Play Dates
by ncisabbylover
Summary: AU set in 2001. 1993 was a big year for both Kate and Rick. Eight years later they forge a friendship brought on by the friendship their daughters are developing.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**First week of June** **2001**

"Daddy! Can we please go to the park? PLEASE?" Eight year old Alexis Castle stood at the door of her father's study, her bright blue eyes pleading with the man, a spark of hope in them.

"Honey, I've got to finish this by next week." Richard Castle replied, barely looking up from his computer screen. "Can we go next week?" Honestly he would rather be outside playing with his daughter but he had another thirteen chapters to go before his latest novel was complete.

"Okay Daddy." She tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. As she turned to leave Rick rubbed a hand over his face and scraped his fingers through his hair. He kind of hated that she was so accepting of him disappointing her. He fixed his eyes on the blinking cursor at the top of the blank page. It had been blank for the past hour.

"Alexis!" He called loudly so she would hear him in her bedroom upstairs. "How soon can you be ready?" Maybe some fresh air would do him good, clear his min.

His beautiful daughter came bounding down the stairs, her grin as wide as her face, not two minutes later.

"Ready!" She stated, enthusiasm seeping from her very core. This was his daughter, not the quiet thing that had been holed up in her room for the past few days, desperately missing her best friend. He smiled at her closing the laptop.

"Okay, let me grab my things and then let's go to the park.

* * *

><p>"Aly." Kate Beckett called down the hall way. Upon hearing no reply she tried again. "Alyssa!"<p>

A small head popped out of the doorway at the end of the hall, light brown pigtails swaying by the sides of her head.

"Yes Mommy?"

"What do you want to do for the afternoon? I'm not on call anymore." Kate tried to get at least one day off a week and usually aimed for two or three in her daughter's school holidays. Usually at least one of those days she was on call and her days off didn't always work out but she did her best.

"Can we do anything? Anything at all?" The eight year old asked, excitement shining in her eyes already.

"Whatever your beautiful heart desires." It had became a rarity for Kate to not be called in and while she was on call Alyssa knew they couldn't stray far from home.

Alyssa stood and looked thoughtful for a moment before announcing the destination she had her heart set on.

"The park?"

"You want to go to the park? We can go anywhere at all and you want to go to the park?" Kate was baffled.

"Yup! The one with all the monkey bars. Then maybe we can go for ice cream after?" The sparkle of excitement was still in the young girls eyes.

"Park and ice cream it is then." Kate conceded. "Race you to get ready?" She asked her daughter, her voice tinged with playfulness.

Alyssa yelled 'go' in lieu of yes and sprinted into her bedroom. Kate was equally quick off the mark, running around the house to collect her things.

"Winner gets to pick where we go for ice cream!" Kate yelled, phone and purse in hand, about to pick up her keys and make a dash for the door. She had just picked them up and was in the middle of turning when her daughter ran straight past her. She used the front door to stop herself, hitting it with a thud.

"I win!" Alyssa declared triumphantly, turning to face her mother.

"That you did." Kate smiled down at her. "Let's go." She unlocked the door and pushed it open, taking her daughter's hand and leading her out.

* * *

><p>Rick sat on a park bench, sunglasses covering most of his face, watching his daughter swing from bar to bar on the near by play ground. It wasn't often that he was recognized outside a book store or a party but he liked the protection and privacy the sunglasses provided for both himself and his young daughter.<p>

A woman, about five years his junior came and sat on the other end of the bench, looking out onto the play ground also. She had medium brown hair and was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. He glanced over at her, once, twice, three times. She had sharp angular features that somehow still looked soft on her face.

"Which one's yours?" Rick asked the fourth time he looked over at the woman. He should have thought it through better, led with something else. Most people, especially women, were very cautious around men in or near a playground. In this day and age it was suspicious, a fact that made Rick sad.

The woman turned to face him, sizing him up with her green eyes. She scrutinized him for a moment but apparently deemed him a non-threat.

"She's the one with the brown pigtails, swinging upside down from the highest set of bars." She seemed to chuckle at that. "Next to the red head. What about you?"

Rick looked over to spot the girl she had described as her. He saw her and his own daughter at the same time.

"Ah, mine's the red head actually." An awkward silence followed his reply but Rick broke it again quickly.

"My name's Rick, and that's my daughter Alexis." He said, head nodding in the girls' general direction and proffering a hand for the woman to shake.

She took his hand in a firm grip and shook it.

"Kate. My daughter's name is Alyssa. They seem to be getting on quite well over there." She observed. The two girls were hanging upside down, side by side, their faces turning red due to the blood rushing to their heads.

"Indeed." Rick said, looking at them. "Alexis just turned eight a few weeks back. How old is Alyssa?"

"Turned eight last month too."

"What date?" Rick asked.

"The twenty-third."

"Alexis' birthday was on the twenty-ninth." Kate only nodded at his revelation, still watching her little girl play with her new friend.

"So Kate," Rick began another line of conversation. "What do you do?"

Kate hated when people asked her that. It usually led to more questioning and when she wasn't at work she generally liked to not be at work.

"I'm with the NYPD." She answered as vaguely as she could before turning the spotlight back to him. "And yourself?"

"I'm a writer." Rick's was equally as vague but Kate pursued it.

"Anything I would know?" She was a fairly avid reader when she had time, not that she ever really did.

"_In a Hail of Bullets_? _Flowers for Your Grave_?" He had eleven books under his belt now but her was referencing some of his earlier work which weren't as popular as the new Derek Storm series he had started a few years back. He found that only the die-hard fans knew of them.

"You're kidding right? You're Richard Castle? I didn't know you had a daughter." Kate tried not to sound too star struck but this man was near the top of her top ten list of modern authors.

"Yeah, I try to keep her out of the spotlight. So you're a fan I take it?" He pushed his sunglasses on top of his head, there really wasn't much need for them anymore, or at least he hoped that was the case.

"Yeah I am actually. I really enjoy your books." Kate tried to come off nonchalant and thought herself reasonably successful. Rick smiled at her.

"So what do you do for the NYPD?" He asked.

She sighed but figured it was only fair to share. He'd laid it out on the table and it was probably a risky move for him. He'd been unsure of her reaction if she was reading him right.

"Homicide. I actually just make Detective Third Grade." She shrugged it off. It wasn't a big deal and she hoped he wouldn't make it one. Most people, men especially, usually had one of two reactions. They either grilled her endlessly about her job or ran away screaming. He did neither and his response actually surprised her.

"That must be hard with a young kid." He had sympathy in his eyes as he looked at her.

"It can be." She was slightly taken aback. No one ever really put two and two together to consider the difficulties of raising a child when you had such a demanding job.

"I couldn't imagine that. Working long and obscure hours and not getting to see Alexis every day. You must have good help. I work from home mostly and I'm with Alexis constantly. I feel for you."

"Yeah, it sucks sometimes but she's my ray of sunshine after a hard case. My father loves spending time with her. He's great."

"Her dad around still?" He asked, noticing for the first time the lack of a wedding ring on her left hand.

"No. I had Aly while I was in high school. My parents were good about it. Well as good as parents can be when their sixteen year old daughter comes home pregnant. Mom helped me a lot and took care of Alyssa so I could finish school." Kate had long since come to terms with the story about how she got Alyssa and she wasn't ashamed of it anymore. It had been a mistake getting pregnant so young but she wouldn't trade her little girl for the entire world.

"Wow, I thought I was young when Alexis came along. I was twenty-one."

Kate looked over at the playground only to see both their daughters running towards them. "Here they come." Kate warned Rick as Alexis launched herself into his lap, Alyssa similarly assaulting Kate.

"Mommy, can my new friend Alexis, come and get ice cream with us?" Alyssa asked just as Alexis was asking her father a similar question.

"Well, you'll have to introduce me to her first and then it will be up to her Daddy." Kate told Alyssa, her eyes moving briefly to the man on the other side of the park bench.

"Alexis." Alyssa grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her off her father's lap and pushing her in front of Kate. "This is my Mom. Mom, this is Alexis. We're the same age, cept I'm older by six days."

Kate smiled. "Hello Alexis, how are you?" Kate asked the girl.

"I'm well thank you." Kate was impressed by the young girl's polite though shy reply. She watched as Alexis looked uncertainly at her father and noticed how the uncertainty turned to smiles after he shot her a smile of his own.

"Daddy, this is my new friend Alyssa." Alexis introduced, still standing in front of Kate.

"Good afternoon Alyssa. My name's Rick. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hi." Alyssa replied. She then summoned every ounce of her eight year old courage and asked. "Rick, can you and Alexis come and get ice cream with us? It's my choice because I won the race this morning."

Alexis moved to stand in front of her father then.

"Please Daddy? I promise that Ill be good and let you write when we get home. Please?" Her last plea was drawn out as she looked up at him.

"Is that okay with you Kate?" He asked, turning to her.

"Yeah, absolutely." As awkward as it had started out she was enjoying the conversation she was having with Rick.

"Okay then. Alexis, we need to be home by four okay?" Alexis looked down at the new watch on her wrist. She had received it as a birthday present last month from her grandmother.

"So we have two hours?" She double checked that she was right.

"Well, let's allow a half hour to get us home okay?"

"So one hour and a half then." Alexis amended.

"Yep." Rick turned to Alyssa.

"So, where are we going?"

"Um, Sundae Surprise?" Alyssa looked up to her mother for approval and received a nod of consent.

"I love Sundae Surprise. It's the most awesome place!"

"Sundae Surprise it is then." Rick said. The girls all but dragged their respective parents to their feet before the group made their way to the edge of the park to catch a cab, the two girls talking animatedly the entire way.

They arrived at the ice cream shop twenty minutes later and Rick payed for the cab fare before Kate could even reach for her wallet.

"Thanks." Kate said as they stood on the sidewalk outside the Sundae shop.

"No problem. Shall we go in?" Without waiting for an answer Rick walked to the door, holding it open for the three ladies to enter. He smiled at Kate as she walked through, thanking him again, this time with a silent nod.

"You know the rules Alyssa." Kate reminded her daughter who was staring eagerly into the large display freezer.

"What are the rules?" Alexis asked her friend in a whisper.

"Two scoops, one topping, and one squirt of sauce." Alyssa whispered back. Alexis nodded, deciding to take this rule aboard too.

Kate and Rick watched the girls umm and ahh over the ice cream selection for another few minutes before Kate gave Alyssa a thirty second decision warning and went to line up. Alexis looked over at her father in question. He nodded, indicating that the warning applied to her too.

Alexis quickly made her choice and stood at her father's side in line. Alyssa followed soon after and before long they were all sitting at a table eating ice cream.

"Where do you go to school Alexis?" Kate asked the girl witting across the table from her.

"Greendale Elementary." Alexis replied once she'd finished her mouthful.

"Do you like it there?" Kate followed up.

"Yeah. My teachers are all really nice and I like learning everything but my best friend just moved all the way to Kansas." As she finished the sentence she shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Aw, that's sad." Kate said, sympathy filling her voice.

"What about you Alyssa?" Rick asked.

"I go to P.S. 290. I like it there." She said around a mouthful of fudge and lollies. Kate sent her a reprimanding glare and she instantly looked apologetic.

Alexis picked up the conversation with her new friend about their schools while Rick turned to Kate again.

"Thanks for this. Alexis has been really down lately. Her best friend is so far away and I have a deadline approaching which means I actually have to work for once." Rick smiled at her appreciatively.

"That's okay. I'm actually surprised. Aly doesn't always get along well with girls her own age. I'm curious, how does your job work with a child?" Kate asked. "Do you have a nanny or anything for when you go away?"

"Nah, I don't think I could let anyone but family look after Alexis long term like that. I had a lot of bad experiences growing up. She has a babysitter but that's more for evenings when I can't take her with me."

"You take her with you everywhere? On book tours and that? That's a big commitment. How does it work with school?" Kate was astounded by the difference in their single parent homes. Granted he was a best selling author but surely they couldn't be too different in there lives, at least not at home.

"I try to do tours during school holidays and sometimes, if it doesn't work out that way, she'll bring school work with her. Worst comes to worst she stays with my mother." Rick replied.

"What about her mother?" Kate asked. Rick quickly shot a look to his daughter to make sure she wasn't listening to their conversation. She was in the middle of a dramatic discussion about dinosaurs with Alyssa.

"She's in California. She left to pursue her career when Lexi was three." Rick shook his head. "She's not the most reliable or responsible adult, let alone parent. She's also not too big on keeping promises."

"Oh, that makes things harder."

"Yeah it can. We get through though. Speaking of getting through however, they sure have plowed through that ice cream." The girls' faces were covered in sauce and chocolate ice cream. "We should probably head out soon." He told Kate, getting Alexis' attention too.

"Do we have to?" Alexis' voice was close to a whine.

"Yeah Pumpkin. Sorry. Maybe if Kate says it's okay we can set up a play date?" Both Castles turned to look at Kate.

"Sure. Why don't we swap numbers and set it up that way?" Kate suggested pulling out her phone. They did a quick number swap before getting the girls to say goodbye. They hugged each other tightly like they'd been thick as thieves for years.

Once Rick and Alexis were in the cab, he sent a text to the newest contact in his phone.

_Just testing, making sure you didn't give me a fake number_

He got one back very soon after.

_Damn, shoulda thought of that._

Rick chuckled to himself, glad of the new friendships he and his daughter had made. Kate was nice, she seemed like she had her feet firmly planted on the ground which was refreshing to Rick.

* * *

><p>It hit Kate in the cab home that she had just spent the better part of her afternoon with one of her favorite authors. The one who helped her get through her mother's death, the one she stood in line for once to get a book signed, just before Alyssa was born.<p>

What really struck her was how normal he was. He was just another single parent trying to make it though. He hadn't flaunted his wealth. He obviously had money sending his daughter to a school like Greendale. Kate couldn't fault him for it. If she had that kind of money Alyssa would be going somewhere like that too.

She was grateful for her daughter's new found friendship because Aly often had trouble making friends. She was also happy about the friendship she had forged with Rick. It would be nice to know another single parent, to maybe share the burden a bit. This play date was looking like a great idea for all involved.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**I hope you liked it. I've got a bit of a plan laid out for this story already though any suggestions are welcome. I feel that Kate and Rick may seem slightly out of character in this first chapter but we've only really seen them for two hours and they had just met. **

**Just some general house keeping: Alyssa and Alexis were born in 1993 and the current year in the story is 2001. **

**I think that's all from me for now. I hope to get another chapter written with in the next day or two so drop me a line, add this to alerts, let me know what you think!**

**Love Sacha**

**P.S. This is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I try not to do this at the beginning of a chapter but I have to say you guys are amazing! This story has been online for about 24 hours, maybe just a little bit over now and I have over 30 story alerts. I think I got a total of 60 emails from fanfiction . net today and they made me so happy! You guys are awesome. Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 2**

**Mid June 2001**

Kate was packing up her desk for the afternoon and was almost ready to leave when her cell phone rang.

"Beckett." She answered professionally, hoping it wasn't another body drop. She really just wanted to go home and spend an evening on the couch with her daughter.

"Kate? Hi, it's Rick, from the park last week?" His voice sounded uncertain, like she wouldn't remember who he was. Well it wasn't like she was going to forget meeting her favorite author anytime soon. Not that she'd ever tell the man that though.

"Rick. How are you?"

"Well thanks. Look I'm calling to see if we could set up that play date for sometime this week. I've caught up on the manuscript and will be finished by tomorrow afternoon if all goes well. Alexis has been bugging me all week to make this call and set this thing up. She's really excited about it."

"Yeah, Alyssa's been bugging not only me but her grandfather to make the call." Kate heard Rick laugh on the other end of the phone. "I'm working a lot of this week unfortunately. I hate working in Aly's school holidays but sometimes it's unavoidable." Kate sighed and made her way out of the station, phone still against her hear.

"Well, it's up to you but Alyssa could just come over here while you're at work. I mean, I understand if you're uncomfortable with that. You've only met us once, but the option is there." Rick offered.

Kate thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Actually, that might work really well for us." Her father had a doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon and didn't want to take Alyssa with him. Normally she wouldn't put her daughter in the care of someone, especially a man, she had only ever met once but she trusted this man, who had been in the public eye for so long. It gave him a little bit of credibility. And should anything go wrong, how hard could it be to find a minor celebrity? "Would Thursday work for you?"

"Yeah sure. Would you like to drop her off or would it be better for me to pick her up?"

"I'll drop her off." She trusted him, but it was still important to know where her daughter was going to play.

Rick gave her their address. It was in a fairly high class area, which was to be expected. Kate was inquisitive to see what his apartment looked like. His daughter hadn't been dressed in the big brand name clothes when they met last week so she didn't take him for someone to be impractical with money, then again, he had a lot of it and she'd only met him once.

"Great. Will eight o'clock be okay? I have to be in at the precinct by nine." Kate said.

"Eight will be fine. We'll feed her breakfast and everything." Eight was usually when he and Alexis got up on summer break but they could get up a bit earlier for just one day.

"Okay, thanks."

"Well, we'll see you then." The end of this conversation was rapidly becoming awkward.

"See you then. Bye." And then Kate hung up.

* * *

><p>Alexis woke up at six on Thursday morning. She didn't even look at the clock on her bedside table before she ran down the stairs and into her father's room. She didn't stop at the threshold though; instead she took a running leap and landed on the bed, just shy of her father's chest. The bouncing of the bed woke Rick up and he blinked his eyes in surprise at his daughter's sudden presence in his room.<p>

" 'Lexis, it's six o'clock." He said, looking at the numbers on the digital clock next to his bed. "We agreed to get up at seven this morning, remember?" His voice was still low and gravely with sleep.

"But I'm just so excited Daddy! Alyssa is coming over! Can we play laser tag? Oh can we watch movies and color and play hid and go seek? With laser tag?" Alexis was far too awake for this hour of the morning in Rick's opinion.

"Yes Alexis, you two can play whatever you like." Rick was attempting to sit up and rub the sleep from his eyes. "So I take it we're getting up now?"

"What are we going to make for breakfast?" Alexis asked instead of answering.

"Before we start breakfast how about you go back upstairs and get ready for the day. Tell me your morning routine." Rick had found that if she repeated her list of things to do before breakfast in the morning she remembered it better.

"Make my bed, get dressed, put my pyjamas in the hamper, brush my teeth, make sure my room is tidy, and then come down and sit at the breakfast bar." Alexis listed off from memory.

"Well done, now go get started on it. I'll make my bed, get dressed, brush my teeth, and meet you there okay?"

"What about tidy your room?" Alexis asked.

"My room is tidy." Rick said and Alexis looked around and nodded in silent agreement.

"Good morning Daddy." Alexis clambered up next to Rick and kissed him on the cheek. He gathered her into a hug.

"Good morning pumpkin." He said softly and let her go after one more moment. Alexis left the room while Rick stood up to start what he suspected was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Alyssa squeezed Kate's hand tighter with excitement as they caught the elevator up to the Castle residence.<p>

"Do you think we'll be able to color and play hide and seek and watch movies?" The young girl asked her mother as she bounced on the balls on her feet.

"I'm sure you and Alexis will get to do heaps of fun stuff today. You need to calm down a little bit though, okay sweetheart?" Just as Kate finished her sentence the elevator stopped on the top floor and the doors opened.

The pair stepped out, still hand in hand, and Kate knocked on the door just across the hall. She heard little feet scampering, getting louder and then stopping on the opposite side of the door. Lager feet then sounded their approach and the door opened wide a second later. Alyssa's hand was out of hers in a flash and the girl was excitedly flinging herself into Alexis who seemed to be equally as excited.

"Morning." Rick greeted Kate. "Want to come in for a moment?" He stepped aside and Kate wordlessly entered. She took a moment to look at their home, take it all in. It was stylish and obviously had pricey furnishings but they were all well used. The worn parts of the apartment, the lived in wear and tear, gave the whole place a homey feel.

"Nice place." She said simply as she followed him to the kitchen.

"Thanks. Feel free to put your stuff down anywhere." Rick was gesturing to the bag she still held in both hands. She smiled and placed it on the kitchen counter before taking a seat next to the two girls already sitting on the stools and talking animatedly.

"Would you like something to drink? Juice, coffee?" Kate spied the coffee machine behind him. "I can make it to go." Rick offered.

"If that's the case, a coffee would be great. Thanks." Rick nodded and set about preparing the machine.

"Flat white, latte, flavor, sugar?" He asked.

"Latte, and vanilla flavoring if you've got it." It was looking as if she would be getting her morning coffee just the way she liked it without having to pay a cent.

"Normal or sugar free?" Kate was impressed now.

"Sugar free. Thanks." Rick finished the latte he was making in the to-go mug and handed it to her.

"Do you have to go right away or do you have time for breakfast?" He asked.

"I've got to leave in a minute. Take a rain check though?" She pulled a card out of her bag that was sitting next to her. "If you can't contact me on my cell for whatever reason, that's my extension at the station. My dad's number is on the back if you need it too. I should be back around five but I'll call and let you know."

"Okay. Well, best let you be off then." Rick said.

"Yeah, sorry I can't stay longer." Kate then turned to her daughter. "Alyssa, come here a sec. Say goodbye." Kate got off her stool and crouched so she was level with her daughter. Alyssa came and stood between Kate's legs as Kate rested her hands on Alyssa's shoulders.

"You be good okay? Remember I love you. I'll miss you today."

"I'll miss you too Mommy." And then Alyssa wrapped her arms around her mother's neck in a hug. "Love you."

Kate whispered something in her ear that made Alyssa giggle before pulling away, a big smile, the same smile, on both their faces.

Kate stood up right again and Alyssa returned to her conversation with Alexis.

"I'll walk you out." Rick said, grabbing Kate's bag and handing it to her. "I'll see you when you pick her up." Rick said by way of goodbye at the door.

"See you then." Kate replied, waving her daughter one last goodbye before walking out and over to the elevator.

The girls and Rick wolfed down the breakfast Alexis' and Rick had finished making just before their new found friends had arrived.

"What do you want to do today?" Alexis asked Alyssa.

"Umm, I don't know. It's your house. What do you want to do?" Alyssa countered.

"Want to go up stairs? I can show you my room." Alexis suggested.

"You know the rules. Clean up before you move onto the next game." Rick told them. He had learned that lesson the hard way, having to clean up after a whole day of activities. Alexis had played with a friend all day and then had fallen asleep before she had a chance to clean up all the mess they'd made that day.

"Okay." Both girls answered in unison. Rick shook his head with a laugh as the girls went upstairs.

"Do you have lots of dolls?" Alyssa asked as the approached the second floor landing.

"Some. How many is lots?" Alexis asked, to which Alyssa shrugged.

Alexis opened the door to her bedroom and Alyssa stepped in, slowly taking in her surroundings in a way that was similar to that of her mother when she had entered the loft barely an hour earlier. The room itself was large and square. There was a feature wall at the head of the bed on the back wall. It was a simple pattern of green, purple, and pink squares. The bed was a king-single, four-poster that looked like it had been ripped straight out of a Disney movie. It's linen was purple and green to compliment the rest of the room's decor. Further along the side wall, at the end of her bed was a door that led to a bathroom. A chest of drawers and a wardrobe sat next to the door. Across the room from where Alyssa was standing was a desk and a book case that was overflowing with all sorts of books. There were picture books and fairy tales along with the _Chronicles of Narnia_ and the _Harry Potter_ books. Then Alyssa's eyes fell on something to her left. Next to a large chest of toys sat a giant dolls house, the biggest the girl had ever seen.

"Can we play with the doll house?" Alyssa asked her friend.

Alexis shrugged. "Okay."

Alyssa was on her knees in front of the house in a blink of an eye, Alexis not far behind her. The were soon caught in a world of their own making, complete with dragons and handsome princes who came to save the princesses.

* * *

><p>Rick was in his study finishing off his last chapter when there was a knock on the door and the heads of two small girls peeked in. It was coming on to midday. They had been playing quietly for near three hours, which wasn't entirely uncommon for Alexis.<p>

"Hi there. What have you girls been up to?""

"We were playing princes and princesses." Alyssa informed him as she and Alexis entered the study.

"Cool. Where there dragons?" Rick asked.

"Of course there were dragons Daddy. You can't play princes and princesses without a dragon." Alexis assured him.

"That's exactly right. Are you girls hungry yet?" The two eight year olds looked at each other. They'd come down to ask to play laser tag but they both turned back to Rick and nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, shall we get pizza then? Do you eat Ham and Pineapple Alyssa?"

"Yup!" The girl answered.

"Pizza it is then. Would you like to do some coloring while we wait for it to get here?"

This time it was Alexis who spoke up.

"Yeah! We can make each other late birthday cards!"

"Awesome!" Alyssa agreed.

"Okay then, let's get you two situated and order the pizza." Rick said, standing from his chair and following the girls into the dinning room.

* * *

><p>At five that afternoon Rick's phone rang.<p>

"Hello?"

"Hi Rick, it's Kate. How's Alyssa?" Kate greeted down the line.

"She's good. The girls have been playing all day and are currently in the middle of watching _The Little Mermaid_." Rick told her.

"Alyssa loves that movie." Kate paused momentarily. "Listen, I won't be able to make it back until late. I was just calling to let you know I'll be sending my dad over to pick Alyssa up." Kate had barely stopped today and she was tired. They still had about seventeen hours of surveillance to look over and the Captain was pushing for a quick close on this case, no doubt because of the pressure he was receiving from those above him.

"Oh. Hey, if it makes things easier she can just stay here the night. You can come over for breakfast tomorrow morning if you're done with work or she can just stay here til you're ready. It's no problem really. We have a spare tooth brush and I'm sure she'll fit perfectly into Alexis' clothes.

"Oh, you don't…" Kate started to reject the offer but was suddenly hit with the all too frequent guilt she felt for dumping her daughter on her father so often. She took a deep breathe and started again. "That would be really great Rick, as long as you don't mind."

"It's fine. I finished the last of my manuscript today while the girls were playing. I just finished sending it to my editor so I'm free for a bit. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Please." Kate, no matter how many times she stayed late at the station, always called to say goodnight to her daughter. She heard Rick calling for Alyssa. There was a rustling sound and then her daughter's voice.

"Mommy?"

"Hello sweet thing. Did you have a good day today?" Alyssa sat down on the couch in the study and Rick stepped out so Alyssa could talk to her mother.

"Yeah! Alexis has the best and the biggest doll house and we made each other birthday cards and played laser tag! Oh, and we had pizza for lunch. You should come over and play laser tag with us Mommy. It's the funnest thing ever!" Kate's daughter raved.

"That sounds like a great day. Listen bug, I can't come and pick you up just yet." Kate heard her daughter's deflated sigh." But, how would you like to have a sleepover with Alexis tonight?"

"Really? Like really really?" Gone was the sorrowful tone of Alyssa's voice, replaced with joy and new found excitement.

"Really. And I'll see you tomorrow."

"This really is the best day ever!" The girl exclaimed.

"I'm so glad that you're having a good time Alyssa. Hey, I love you." She said the last part softly and the girl sobered some.

"I love you too Mommy. Forever."

"Forever. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Can you give the phone back to Rick?" Kate asked and heard her daughter stand and walk from one room to another, opening and closing a door.

"Bye Mommy."

"Goodbye my precious girl." Kate replied. She really just wanted to hug her little girl.

"You there?" Rick's voice came through the line.

"Yeah, I'm here. Thanks for doing this Rick, you have no idea how much this means."

"Well you'll have to tell me sometime. Anything I need to know?"

"Not really. Her normal bed time is seven thirty but she can stay up later."

"Alexis usually goes to bed around then too. Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then. Turn up whenever, I don't really plan on leaving the loft anytime tomorrow." Rick told her.

"Okay, thanks again. Goodbye Rick."

"No problem. Bye Kate."

* * *

><p>The girls watched one more movie after <em>The Little Mermaid<em> before Rick sent them up to get ready for bed. Both girls were now tucked securely into their respective beds with Alyssa on a mattress on the floor of Alexis' bedroom.

"Tell us a story Daddy. Please?" Alexis asked and then turned to her friend. "Daddy tells the best bed time stories Aly."

"Okay. You both comfy?" When the girls nodded in confirmation Rick began the tale. "Once upon a time there were two beautiful princesses. Their names were Alyssa and Alexis and they were best friends…"

By the time he got to the climax of the story where the princesses were scaling the tower walls to escape the evil plans of Sir Cleanit both girls were fast asleep. Rick smiled at them, standing from the chair that he'd been sitting in that usually went at Alexis' desk. He kissed his daughter gently on the forehead so as not to wake her and whispered an 'I love you' before he turned and exited the room, shutting the door silently behind him.

**A/N:So what did you think? Along with writing this chapter I also had a discussion about some future chapters with phnxgrl. Thanks for all your help today!**

**Thanks should also go out to zats, LadyAilith, keal, CastleandBeckett-always, KaylaBeckett93, NCISchick, and fanka77**. **It's because of you that this update has come around so quickly (and also because I'm loving this story so far!)**

**Stay tuned for chapter 3 in which we will see the Kate/Rick friendship develop some!**

**You guys are awesome!**

**Love Sacha**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Mid-June 2001**

Kate arrived at the loft at eight the next morning. She was running on coffee and the sole hour of sleep she had managed to get at her desk between five and six while they were waiting for an arrest warrant to go though. She knocked and it was a full thirty seconds before the door opened to display a still pyjama clad Rick.

"Kate, hi." He was obviously less awake then he appeared.

"Rick. Sorry, I just finished work. Sometimes I forget that most people like to sleep past eight when the opportunity presents itself." Kate said sheepishly from the other side of the threshold.

"It's okay. I don't know that the girls are awake yet." He stopped speaking and his eyes lit up slightly, making him look more coherent. "I'm sorry, come on in." He amended, stepping aside to let her in and closing the door behind her. "You can go get Alyssa if you like. Or if you have time I can make some coffee and we can just wait for them to come down." Rick offered.

"Coffee sounds great." She hadn't had time to grab another one after four that morning. "Let them sleep. Someone should." Kate laughed but was only half joking.

"Okay. Why don't you take a seat on the sofa and I'll bring the drinks over." Rick told her. Kate only nodded, placing her bag on the floor at her feet before taking a seat on the sinfully comfortable couch.

"The girls seemed to have a good time if what Alyssa told me over the phone last night is anything to go by." Kate told him even as he was working on the coffees in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think they really enjoyed it." He said as he approached the lounge, cups in hand.

"I think a repeat is definitely in order." He mentioned, handing her the mug.

"Definitely. Laser tag? She loved it." Even as Kate took a sip from the cup her eyes drooped.

"Yeah. Alexis and I play all the time." He paused to take a sip of the liquid drug, giving the woman next to him a once over before continuing. "Excuse me for saying this but you look absolutely wiped. Did you get any sleep at all last night? What time did you make it home?"

Kate looked up guiltily. "I didn't actually. It's okay though, I have tomorrow off so I'll get to sleep in." She made it sound like it was an every day thing for her.

"Does this happen often?" Rick couldn't imagine getting so little sleep and still functioning. "How do you deal?"

Kate's response was a shrug.

"Sometimes. You do what you have to to get by, you know?" Rick nodded in understanding. So was the life of the single parent.

"Look, why don't you take a nap here. The girls aren't up yet and I doubt you're in any state to entertain an eight year old all day."

"I can't impose on you like that. You've already done so much and you barely know us."

"That may be true but if our daughters have anything to do with it I'd say we're going to be seeing each other quite a bit more."

Kate nodded, seeming to consider the idea for a moment. A moment was all Rick needed though. Seeing her resolve crumbling he was on his feet in an instant, taking the cup out of her hand and putting it on the coffee table. The next thing she knew he was pulling her up from the couch by her hands.

"Come on. Guest room is upstairs." He said, pushing her to the staircase with a hand on her shoulder. She was honestly too exhausted to argue and so she just went along with it. "I'll send Alyssa up later to wake you and say good morning and just generally jump all over you." He offered.

"Thanks." Kate said, half yawn, half laugh, walking through the door Rick had just opened.

"Let me know if you need anything." Kate nodded and then simply fell forward onto the bed, not bothering to pull back the covers or take off her shoes. Rick laughed and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>The girls had been awake for hours. At eight o'clock they were still laying in bed, chatting away. Currently Alexis was telling Alyssa about how she and Rick always spend Independence Day at their house in the Hamptons. Alyssa listened intently as Alexis described swimming in the waves and making sand castles all day, only stopping to eat a barbequed lunch before continuing. Alexis told her about walking along the beach with her father to find the perfect spot to watch the fireworks. Alyssa nodded along, taking in the story before recounting days at the Fourth of July Police Picnic with her mother and sometimes her grandfather. Alexis was now the one wrapped up in listening. Just as Alyssa was finishing her tales Rick opened the door.<p>

"How long have you two been up?" He asked, to which both girls shrugged. "Well come down stairs when you get hungry, okay?"

"Okay Dad." Alexis answered and continued on where Alyssa and her conversation had left off, now talking about three-legged sprints and sack races.

Rick smiled and shut the door, making his way downstairs to make a start on breakfast.

The girls came down in their pyjamas half an hour later, just as Rick was pouring the first pancake into the fry pan.

"Good morning again." He greeted the girls as they sat bright eyed and bushy tailed at the kitchen counter.

"Morning!" They chorused.

"Can you make shapes today?" Alexis asked her father as he flipped the first pancake.

"Sure. What theme?" Alexis seemed to mull it over before turning to her friend.

"What's your favorite animal Aly?" She asked.

"Turtles, they're awesome." Alyssa replied.

"Creatures of the deep it is then." Rick stated and got to work on creating turtles, fish, jelly fish, and shark shaped pancakes.

By nine both girls had eaten and were eager for something to do.

"Have you made the beds?" Rick asked.

"No, not yet." Alexis admitted.

"Well, go complete your morning routine, both of you, and then we'll talk. Alexis, make sure you tell Alyssa what you usually do in the morning and let her borrow some clothes okay?"

Soon both girls were scampering back upstairs and Rick was left alone in the living room. With the rare opportunity of solace and free time he picked up a book and began to read.

The hours past quickly as they always did when he became absorbed in reading and it wasn't until eleven thirty that he realized he hadn't seen or heard from the girls in over two hours. He climbed the stairs and silently opened the door to peek into Alexis' room. The girls were both fully dressed in matching outfits, beds made, and playing with the doll house.

"Alyssa." Rick called. Both girls' heads whipped around, startled at his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Your Mom's asleep in the guest room. She'll probably be getting hungry soon, do you want to go and wake her?" Alyssa paid little mind as to why her mother was asleep in the guest room at the Castle's loft. Her eyes lit up and she nodded. Rick led her to the room where Kate was sleeping, sprawled out on her stomach in much the same position she had collapsed. He let Alyssa in and closed the door, letting Kate enjoy some time with her daughter as he turned and when to spend some time with his.

Alyssa jumped onto the bed next to Kate who then woke up with an oof.

"Morning Mommy."

"Good morning Aly." Kate greeted, still trying to get her bearings. It took her a moment to remember where she was as her little girl curled into her side for a cuddle. "How'd you sleep last night?" Kate asked, running her fingers through Alyssa's hair.

"Good. Rick tells awesome bed time stories." Alyssa told her.

"I bet he does." Kate agreed. "What's the time?"

When Alyssa shrugged Kate looked down at her watch and startled slightly as the face that looked back at her told her it was nearing midday. She had to get up. Then her stomach expressed its great displeasure at not having being fed in over twelve hours.

"Let's get up, shall we?" Kate asked the girl whose response was to sit up, letting Kate do likewise.

They emerged from the room and Alyssa led them down the hall to another open door which turned out to be Alexis' room. The girl was sitting in the V of her father's legs in front of the doll house, playing with him. Every now and then Rick would tell Alexis something and she would giggle. Alyssa left her mother standing at the door and went to sit next to Rick and Alexis. Rick looked to the doorway as Alyssa got herself situated. He whispered something into his daughter's ear and stood up, joining Kate at the door.

"They play well together, don't they?" Kate commented.

"They do. How'd you sleep? You're looking better."

"Yeah, I feel much better now. Thanks for the loan of the bed." Just as Kate finished that sentence her stomach grumbled.

"Hungry?" Rick asked.

"A bit. It's been a while since I've eaten." Kate confessed.

"Let's go down and make lunch then." He didn't wait for a reply but simply led the way downstairs to the kitchen.

"So, your book is all done?" Kate asked as she stepped behind to counter to join Rick who was rummaging around in the refrigerator.

"Almost. It's with the editor now. I still have to do final approval over all the changes that I'm sure she is going to want to make." Rick replied, pulling out garlic, spinach, tomato paste, tomatoes, and a whole range of other ingredients. "Do you and Alyssa eat pasta?"

"Sure do. So now that your book is almost done, what will you do? I mean obviously you have Alexis but what do you do when you're not writing?" Kate asked, eager to learn more about him.

"Well, there are tours and signings and parties. Honestly I'd rather stay home and just spend time with Lexi but apparently that's not beneficial to book sales. I make appearances when I'm asked but over all that's just me bending to the whims of my publisher so they will keep making my books." Rick handed her a knife, a chopping board, and some tomatoes. "Dice? What about your job? Do you have nights like last night a lot?"

"It's not uncommon." She answered as she began chopping up the red fruits. "I try not to stay out past Alyssa's bed time and my captain is usually pretty understanding but it's hard. Alyssa is generally really good about it though."

"Yeah she seems to be a really good kid, very outgoing." Rick complimented.

"If by outgoing you mean overbearing, stubborn, loud, and opinionated, then yes, she is very outgoing. That's why she doesn't get along well with kids her age. According to her teachers other kids are usually intimidated by her or they clash with her. Her teachers are constantly trying to push deeper relationships on her but she just doesn't go for it. It's really great that she and Alexis seem to be getting on so well."

"They do seem to balance each other out." Rick agreed. "Alexis is a good kid and really smart but she often gets overlooked because she's too quiet. She's okay to just go with the flow most of the time. Apparently she drifts from group to group and with her best friend in Kansas now she hasn't made too many solid friendships." Rick poured tomato paste into a bowl and began to mix in a wide range of sauces and spices. Then he turned to the pantry to pull out the pasta and put it on to cook.

"I don't know about you but when I was a kid the adults didn't much care about who I was friends with as long as they were good kids. Teachers weren't as pushy. I was quite happy to play with the kid down the hall but I didn't really have a best friend until I was ten or eleven." Kate had finished dicing tomatoes and had moved on to the spinach.

"I started boarding school when I was ten. I lived with five different boys all around my age for eight years in countless schools. They were kind of like brothers that I didn't have to grow up with. Or at least they were for as long as I was at any one school. Before that though, I can't even remember having friends my own age. I was always with my mother, around actors and actresses. We were never in one place long enough to make lasting friendships.

"Your mother is Martha Rogers, isn't she?" Kate questioned.

"Yeah. She did the best she could. I never knew my father, and honestly I don't think she knows who he is either. As a kid I went through a seemingly endless parade of nannies, much to my mother's despair. I always swore I'd never subject Alexis to that." He put the sauce in a pan on the burner and added the tomatoes and spinach along with some frozen vegetables he'd retrieved from the freezer.

"Fair enough. I grew up with both my parents but I was always a stubborn thing. It's probably where Alyssa gets it from. When I came home pregnant at sixteen I lost a lot of friends. Most girls don't want to be affiliated with the school whore and those who didn't mind, well their parents sure did. I never had need of a nanny for Aly. Mom looked after her while I was at college but she died when Aly was three." Rick could sense there was more to the story of her mother's death but he let it go, deciding to let her continue. "Dad went down hill for a while but come out of it after a year. I think that it was because of Aly. He's looked after her ever since. Most of my time that isn't spent at work is spent with Alyssa. I don't ever want to put her with a full time nanny. It's far too expensive and there is just too greater chance that it wouldn't work out. It's hard enough to give her a stable routine with my job; I don't want to make it any more complicated by having to go through a stream of nannies. Then again, my dad will only be able to look after her for so long.

The sauce was on, the pasta was cooking and Rick was now leading her to the living room so they could sit while they continued this conversation.

"Well, you know, if it would help, I could take Alyssa once or twice a week over the summer while you're working. It may take some pressure off your father.

Kate looked at him in slight surprise but thought it over for a moment.

"We should work something out." Kate agreed. "The girls will love it." Normally she wasn't one to accept favors or handouts but it was getting harder and harder for her to refuse help. Besides this would benefit Alyssa and she could really use the help over this summer. Her dad had seemed a little off lately. She hoped that a break from taking care of his granddaughter, as much as he adored her, would do him good.

**A/N: Another chapter done! I'm pumping these out like there's no tomorrow! This one's a bit shorter than the previous two but it's setting everything up for the next chapter. We're just starting to see a B plot coming through and I was very excited when I, the author, stumbled across it accidentally.**

**I just want to say again that you guys are awesome. I have over 60 alerts on this story now and that number seems to be growing with the hour. Also thanks for all those who left encouraging reviews at the end of last chapter, all 12 of you! They were really beneficial in me getting this chapter out. I'm so happy that every likes what their reading, especially between Alyssa and Alexis. **

**Well that's it from me for today! Have a great one!**

**Love Sacha :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Friday, June 29th 2001**

Two weeks later Rick and Alexis were making their way into the Twelfth Precinct. Kate had called an hour earlier and all but begged Rick to come and pick Alyssa up from the station. Kate's father had apparently dropped her off there with a very vague excuse about an appointment and Kate had found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. She was right at the end of a case and was ready to make an arrest but she couldn't leave her daughter at the precinct, no matter how great her fellow officers were. She wanted to make the collar on this case herself. She wasn't willing to send someone else out to do the honors today and there was no way she was taking Alyssa into the field with her, especially not on an arrest. Today was not 'take your daughter to work' day.

They walked into the ground floor lobby and headed for the elevator. Kate had told him to take it up to level two. When they had arrived on the correct floor, Alexis grasped for Rick's hand as they stepped out of the metal box. It didn't take Rick long to spot Kate, sitting at her desk across the room, little Alyssa by her side coloring in. Rick called out to her and she immediately stood and made her way towards the father and daughter pair.

"You're a lifesaver." Kate said, gratitude filling her eyes.

"It's no problem, anytime. What happened?" Rick asked, keeping one eye on Alexis who had let go of his hand and was heading to sit with Alyssa at Kate's desk.

"Dad came in and said he couldn't take her for the rest of today. He didn't tell me why. Can I tell you more later? I've really got to move on this case." Rick took a moment to look at her, she looked ready to walk out of the station as soon as she could, determination sparkling in her eyes. He assessed her with his eyes and eventually deemed her okay to go without talking about it now.

"Yeah, of course. Sorry. How about you stay for dinner tonight when you come to pick Alyssa up?" It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, she'd stayed for dinner twice over the past two weeks when she'd come to pick Alyssa up.

"I'll be there." Kate said before calling her daughter to her. "You be good. I love you lots." Kate hugged her and kissed the crown of her head before thanking Rick again and jogging to the open elevator to leave.

Rick took the two girls by the hand and started strolling towards the elevators too.

"So, what are we doing today ladies?" He looked at the clock on the precinct wall and noticed it was around one in the afternoon.

"I'm hungry." Alyssa piped up. She was never one to mince words.

"Me too!" Alexis joined.

"We had lunch an hour ago Alexis." Rick tried to reason.

"Yeah, but that was an hour ago Daddy."

Rick sighed, remembering how he was once told to pick his battles when it came to his daughter.

"Okay, what do you two say to hot dogs and the park?" Rick asked both girls, letting go of their hands as they stepped on the elevator that had just returned from it's trip to the ground floor with Kate.

"The monkey bar one?" Alyssa asked, hopeful.

"No, not today. Today we can go to an ever better park. It'll be great for two little monkeys like yourselves." When they reached the ground floor, Rick flagged down a cab on the street and they traveled a few blocks to the park. Rick bought both girls hot dogs from a street vendor as they make their way into the park. Rick refused to tell them anything about the playground they were approaching, no matter how much the girls begged. He wanted it to be a surprise.

Just as they were taking the last bites of their dogs and looking around for a rubbish bin to dump the wrappers in the girls saw it. From a distance all they could see were masses of rope in different patterns. It was orange, green, and red and there were kids climbing all over it with agility Rick could only dream of having himself.

"Is this it?" Alyssa asked as she and Alexis looked at the playground in nothing short of awe.

"This is it girls." Rick said. When they looked at him, a shining question in their eyes, he nodded to them to give them the go ahead and motioned for them to run.

"Race ya!" He heard Alexis cry, already running.

Rick chuckled to himself, being sure to keep a close eye on the two girls in his care. They yelled down at him as he entered the barked area of the grounds, meant to provide a softer landing for any child so unfortunate to fall. Rick knew that both girls would go home covered in it. They had made it all the way to the top of the structure and were waving down at him. He waved back and they smiled collectively before a boy a year or two older than them cajoled them into a game of tag.

Rick continued to watch them, cheering them on as they jumped, swung, and balanced precariously on the thin bits of rope. They rarely strayed far from one another, watching out for each other. Rick thought it sweet and made a mental note to tell Kate about it tonight.

An hour later two short, brown figures approached the bench where he was sitting. His daughter and her friend looked more dirt than girl, covered in bark dust and sweat.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Rick asked as they stood in front of him.

"Give us ice cream." Alyssa replied confidently.

"Nice try kiddo. I'll have to take a picture when we get home. Are you two dirt girls ready to leave?"

"Yup." Alexis replied while Alyssa nodded along. "We want to go home and watch a movie." She informed him.

"Do you just? Well, I think that we're going to go home, get you both showered and changed and then we'll see what we can do about a movie."

"Do we have to walk all the way home?" Alexis asked. In truth it was only a few blocks away but both girls had been going at full tilt on the play equipment and so he conceded.

"Okay, we'll catch a cab but once we're home you'll both be having showers right away. Alyssa upstairs and Alexis in my bathroom, understand?" Rick instructed as they walked towards the street.

"After a photo." Alyssa reminded him.

"After a photo." Rick agreed, hailing down a cab.

* * *

><p>Once the photo had been taken and the girls were clean again Rick set them up with a movie in the living room. It wasn't long after that a knock sounded at the door.<p>

Rick opened the door and proved his assumption correct as it was Kate standing on the other side.

"Case closed?" He questioned as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Yeah. Thanks for today. Was she okay?" Kate asked this question whenever she picked Alyssa up and the answer was always affirmative.

"She was great. They're watching a movie at the moment if you want to go and say hello."

Kate nodded and headed into the living room to great her daughter. Rick watched from the door way as Alyssa hugged her mother and gave her a run down of her afternoon spent with Rick and Alexis. She asked if Kate was going to stay and watch the movie with them but she refused, telling her daughter that she was going to talk to Rick for a bit. She stood and dropped a kiss to Alyssa's head but the girl was already so absorbed by the movie again that she barely noticed her mother's affections.

Rick was sitting at the breakfast bar when Kate came back through.

"Aly says you have some photos to show me."

"I do actually. Did she tell you about the park?" Rick asked.

"In great detail. I suspect it's going to become a new favorite." As Kate was talking, Rick was pulling out a silver 2.1 mega pixel digital camera. "Wow, she wasn't kidding when she said she was covered, was she?" Kate laughed at the picture of the two girls, pulling up a pant leg each to display the stark contrast of clean to dirt-covered skin.

"No she really wasn't. I heard the cab driver mutter something about it when we got out of the car." Rick said, chuckling too. Then he turned serious. "So, what's going on with your dad?"

Kate sighted the sigh of an already heavily burdened woman and slumped on her stool slightly.

"I don't really know. He's had a lot of doctor's appointments lately and he won't tell me why, today really caught me off guard though. I thought something was wrong with Alyssa when he first showed up. He just did a dump and run though. He said something about an appointment."

"Have you called him to ask about it yet?" Rick questioned gently.

"I asked him about all the doctor's visits the other day but he just blew me off about it. I haven't called him about today though. I'm angry about it and don't want to snap at him. I don't even know if I have the right to feel angry with him. He does so much for Alyssa and me."

"Being angry doesn't mean being ungrateful. The two aren't mutually inclusive. You trust your daughter with your dad. You trust him to take care of her and mind her while you're at work and today he broke that trust. It's okay to be angry." Rick assured her.

Kate nodded, resigned.

"A really good friend gave me some advice once and it has to be one of the wisest things I've ever heard. He told me: 'It's always okay to be angry. Something has made you feel that way and there is nothing wrong with feeling emotions. It's what you do with those emotions that causes problems. Now you've got the choice to make. You can either deal with the anger. You can work it out of your system in a non-harmful way that works for you or you can bottle it up and risk exploding.'" Rick finished.

"Wow, that's um, intense." Kate replied, taken slightly aback by the man who was usually fairly carefree. She'd never heard him sound so serious before.

"It is. Do you want to know what works for me?"

"Sure, why not." Kate said.

"I laugh. I talk. I spend time with Alexis. If all else fails I go down to the gym and pummel a bag. It usually doesn't come to that anymore but I've worked the others seamlessly into my life." He said it as if anger was a frequent emotion for him.

"Do you get angry a lot?"

"Not so much anymore. I used to have some issues with it. I've gotten to the point that most people don't notice now if I am angry. Every time I think about Alexis' mother it frustrates me. Even five years later what she did can still make my blood boil."

"What happened to her mother?" Rick had heard snippets of her whirlwind high school romance that had landed her with Alyssa but she knew next to nothing about how Rick came to be a single parent to an eight year old girl.

"Meredith." The name sounded bitter coming from his mouth. "We met in college. I was an English Major reeling form publishing my first novel having not even graduated yet. We met at a party and she asked me for my autograph. I wasn't famous at all at the time and I was so flattered and besotted that she actually recognized me. What I didn't know was that it was actually a buddy of mine that had sent her over, telling her to ask for an autograph. We starting dating and a month in I was ready to break up with her. I went to see her and before I had a chance to tell her it was over she told me she was pregnant. I was shocked. I did the only responsible thing I could think of and I asked her to marry me." Kate was nodding along with his story, taking it all in.

"Looking back, it was probably the least responsible thing I could've done. When Alexis was born though, she was the most prefect thing I'd ever seen. I didn't know I could love something, someone so much."

"I can relate." Kate said, smiling at the memory of holding her baby girl for the first time.

"Yeah, well Meredith didn't share the same feelings. Don't get me wrong, she loves Alexis in her own way but I was the one who was calming her and feeding her and changing her in the middle of the night. To this day Meredith has always been more of the crazy aunt then doting mother.

"When Alexis was about three I found out Meredith was cheating on me. She was so blasé about it. I wanted to forgive her but she wanted out and so she left. She visits once or twice a year but that's it. Alexis sends her cards on all the important holidays and Meredith sends money on her birthday and at Christmas. It's always some obscene amount that no parent in their right mind would let a child spend. I let her have some of it but most of it goes into a separate account for her college tuition when she's older. I figure that by the time she finishes high school the account will have enough money to cover college and grad school. She'll be using her own money then, technically, rather than schlepping off her rich father." Kate laughed with Rick as he finished the story. She often forgot about his wealth. He covered it so well within his day to day living.

"Wow, that's quite the story. I don't blame you for being angry. Do you regret marrying her?" The question was out of her mouth before she had really thought about it.

"Sometimes." Rick admitted openly. "But I'm happy Alexis had a mom for at least the first three years. Besides if I hadn't married her I might not have ended up with full custody and my life without Alexis, I don't even want to think about that. It's just a big black hole of nothing, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." Kate nodded.

"Can I ask you a question now?"

"You just did, but go ahead."

"Haha." Rick laughed at her lame joke, he was kind of expecting it. "Do you ever regret not getting married?"

"Not really. I was seventeen, sixteen when I fell pregnant. I was far too young. If I regret anything, it's Aly not having a father figure but she's got my Dad, and now she's got you." Kate shot him a smile but it faded quickly as the question that had been burning within her for near three weeks sprung out of her mouth.

"Why are you doing this Rick? I don't mean to sound ungrateful but what made you decided to take on my kid a few days a week?"

Rick stayed silent for a moment, letting the magnitude of the question sink in some.

"I'm doing it because… well originally I started talking to you because I thought you were hot." They both laughed, tension broken, and Rick got back to answering her question.

"But then I noticed how well the girls got along and though about how I wanted Alexis to have that kind of friendship in her life. Then there was you. I looked at you and the more I talked to you the more I saw a woman who needed a friend, a woman who needed one less burden in life." They were both surprised by the honesty in his answer.

"So what about you? What made you accept a total stranger as a child minder?"

Kate had actually thought a lot about this question over the past few weeks.

"Well you weren't a total stranger. I've read all your books." Kate joked. "In all seriousness though. I guess it was because you cared. Even though you barely said anything you just have a way about you that made me feel like you were there for me when I though the walls were caving in, not that you had any way of knowing that. And because I was a woman who needed a friend, and one less burden to bear.

The conversation lulled for a minute until Rick offered her a drink.

"Soda, if you've got it." Kate requested.

"Got anymore questions you'd like to ask while we're at it?" Rick inquired.

"Well as long as we're sharing." Kate said as Rick placed a can of soft drink in front of her. "Would you ever remarry?"

"If I loved her, yes. I'd never marry out of responsibility again, not like that. It's hard to date though. Most women want to date Richard Castle, the novelist, not Rick the single father. How about you? Do you date at all?" Rick knew his question was forward but it felt like fare game at the moment. He was curious as to how big of a shot he had with this woman, should the opportunity arise. The thing was, the more time he talked to her and the more hours they spent together, the more he hoped it would happen.

"Where's the time?" Kate answered. "You've seen how my schedule works. How do I fit a relationship into a life that already has a full time job and Mom responsibilities? Besides, as you said, most people aren't looking for the responsibility of an instant child. I'm barely able to keep up a friendship."

"Well you're keeping this one just fine at the moment." Rick complimented. "Speaking of our friendship, and moving onto lighter conversation, what are your plans for Independence Day?"

"We usually do the police picnic in Central Park. Why?"

"Well, if you're not on call or anything, we're going to be in the Hamptons. You and Alyssa should join us.

"Why, what's in the Hamptons?"

"The sun, the beach, fireworks, and your daughter's best friend."

"Oh, that's a bit of a low blow Rick, don't you think?"

"Whatever works. You were the one talking about maintaining friendships, I'm just giving you the opportunity." Rick said, trying to come off innocently.

"I'll think about it okay? Let you know by Monday."

"I can deal with that. So, ordering in tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan. I feel like Chinese." Kate said as they fell back into less intense conversation.

**A/N: Okay, so a chapter that's a bit longer than the last and a lot of character development. I probably won't update tomorrow because I've got church and also because I need to plan out the next four chapters so I know what I'm doing.**

**Thanks again for all the support! You guys are amazing. I'm up to 74 story alerts, and 17 favourites. I love getting the emails. They all come to my phone and it's constantly going off, makes me feel loved. Thanks again to my amazing reviewers (and sorry I didn't thank you guys in the last chapter but I was in a rush to post) zats, keal, NCISchick, VIOLET1213, LadyAilith, and Fanka77 who all reviewed chapter 3 and also to** **KMacD, StanaTorv, KaylaBeckett93, jasadin, CastleandBeckett-always, phnxgrl, along with zats, keal, VIOLET1213, LadyAilith, and Franka77 who all reviewed chapter two as well. It was such a confident booster. You guys are awesome. **

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**Keep being awesome guys!**

**Love Sacha**


	5. Chapter 5

**July 4th, 2001**

Alexis woke Rick up at eight am, excited and wanting breakfast. Kate had been working Wednesday but had promised Rick and Alexis that she and Alyssa would be there by lunch time on Thursday. Until then it was just father and daughter.

"Will we have lunch on the beach?" Alexis asked a still sleepy Rick who was behind the stove tending to a pan of fried eggs.

"Yeah." Rick yawned. "We're going to do the same thing we do every year except this year Kate and Alyssa will be doing things with us after lunch."

"So, I can go swimming with Alyssa?"

"Do you usually swim between lunch and dinner on the fourth of July?" Rick countered. Alexis nodded. "Then the answer is yes."

They were expecting their friends between eleven and twelve. Kate had told Rick that she planned to leave at eight but with the holiday traffic going in and out of the city being what it inevitably was, the normally two hour trip was sure to be delayed by a few hours.

Rick had hoped he could sleep in until ten. Usually Alexis could get herself some cereal and watch TV here in their Hamptons house but she had been too excited to be awake by herself, or at least that's what she had told him. So, being the dutiful father he was, Rick got up, showered and got dressed and made them a hot breakfast.

They were just finishing up when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" Alexis asked her father who was standing up from the table.

"I have no idea sweetheart." He told her as he approached the door. He unlocked it only to come face to face with Kate and Alyssa. Rick checked the time on the hall clock before greeting them. It was barely nine o'clock.

"Hi. You're early." It came out rather bluntly.

"Yeah, funny story that." She waited a beat then. "If you let us in I might actually tell it to you."

"Oh, sorry." Rick apologized, taking a step back. When they were in he took their bags and crouched down to Alyssa's level. "Alexis is in the kitchen, right through that doorway. Why don't you go surprise her?" He suggested to the young girl.

"Awesome." Alyssa whispered before taking off in the direction Rick had pointed to. The next thing the two adults heard was high pitched laughter which then quietened to actual conversation between the two girls.

Rick turned to Kate and smiled. "So, I believe you owe me a story?"

"Let me sit first, geez. Are you like this with all of your friends? As soon as you become good friends with someone your manners just disappear? Was your polite demeanor really all just a publicity façade?" Kate teased.

"I beg your pardon ma'am," Rick was putting on his best British accent. "My humblest apologies. Please sit. May I interest you in a beverage? Juice? Water? Coffee perhaps?"

Kate was laughing now and she shoved on Rick's chest light-heartedly. "A coffee would be great. Thanks." And then she followed him into the kitchen where their two girls were sitting at the dinning table.

"Hello Alexis. How've you been?" Kate greeted as Rick started preparing two cups of coffee.

"I'm good. Will you and Alyssa come swimming with Daddy and me?" Alexis replied.

"Absolutely. What are you and Alyssa going to do until then?"

"Play board games." Alyssa informed her mother.

"Sounds great." Kate told them.

"Daddy, may we be excused?" Alexis asked her father who was heating milk with a steamer.

"Sure, but first, what's the rule?"

"Clean up before we start the next game." The girls chorused. Kate looked impressed. Rick smiled at her, proud of himself.

"Okay, off you go then." And then they were gone.

Rick placed a cup of coffee in front of Kate and sat next to her with his own in hand. "So tell me Kate, how did you come to be here before nine in the morning?"

Kate sighed and took a large sip from her cup.

"Alyssa woke up before five this morning." Kate began. Rick sat back with a somewhat amused grin on his lips. "She strolled into my room at five to five, completely dressed, declaring that she was ready to go. And then she proceeded to jump on me until I got up. We left at five-thirty. There is surprisingly little traffic for a holiday at that time of the morning. We grabbed breakfast on the way and here we are." Kate finished with another sip of the miracle liquid."

"Oh wow, how much sleep did you get in the end?"

"Four hours or so. After Aly was in bed last night I had to get ready for today and then I was still kind of wired so… But it's enough to get me through. God knows I've survived on less." Kate said, shrugging it off.

"Well today is about having fun and relaxing so if at any point you want to sleep, please feel free to do so." Rick told her.

"Thanks but I'll probably just sleep in tomorrow. I'm on call from three in the afternoon so I can sleep fairly late.

"Okay then, but the offer is there." Rick was not an unobservant man. He could see the dark cresses under her eyes despite her best efforts to cover them with make up. The symptoms he could see were obviously from more than one semi-sleepless night. He dropped it though, deciding that he'd put the offer out there and now it was up to her to take him up on it.

"So what are we going to get up to this morning Rick?"

"Well, we can sit here, or we can go join our daughters in their board games, if they'll have us." Rick suggested.

"Ambush?" Kate asked with a cheeky glint in her eye.

"Ambush." Rick agreed.

Both adults stood, discussing how best to carry out their mission. Once decided, Kate took position at one end of the hall way while Rick went through the bathroom connected to Alexis' room. Both mentally counted to ten before entering. Their approaches were extremely different. Kate put her police training to use and made a silent approach, going almost unnoticed by the girls in the two seconds before Rick entered. He had bolted in yelling, completely ruining her approach. Their end result was ultimately the same though: A successful tickle attack.

"Daddy." Alexis tried to make her voice come out as a scoldingly towards her father but really it just she just sounded breathless.

At the same time as young Alexis was trying to have a stern word with her father, Alyssa was gaspoing for air, desperately trying to plead with her mother to stop. Alexis took leave of reprimanding her father when she realized her friend was still under attack.

"Quick Daddy, we have to save Aly. Get Kate!" Before he could stop her, Alexis was diving towards the older woman, hands poised at the ready.

Upon hearing Alexis' command to her father Kate ceased her attack in order to defend herself. Alyssa joined Alexis immediately, dealing out pay back to her mother and Kate was heroically aspiring not to melt into a puddle of giggles and laughing. That was, until Alexis called her father in.

"Don't you dare." Kate glared at him. Rick seemed intimidated by it for a moment but then he simply shrugged it off and joined the assault. The last word out of Kate's mouth before she became a laughing mess was 'mutiny!'.

Two minutes later, Rick called the girls off to let Kate breathe some. As she recovered she continued to glare at him mumbling words like traitor, rat, betrayer and mutineer.

After Kate had recovered, the adults asked to join the girls and after a moment of deliberation, the girls agreed. The four of them successfully made it through a few games of Chutes and Ladders and Skip-Bo before the girls' pent up energy got the better of them and they declared Twister the next game.

Soon Kate and Rick were on the mat, a tangle of limbs. Alyssa and Alexis had already fallen and gotten out and they were now taking turns spinning the dial.

Rick was effectively holding himself over Kate, one foot on red, one foot and green and both hands on yellow. Underneath him Kate was in a bridge like position with two hands on red and a foot on both yellow and blue.

Alyssa was spinning the dial. "Rick, right hand red." He moved but was now hovering just over Kate. His moth hung near her neck and she could feel his laboured breathing as he struggled to keep himself up in the awkward position. Kate felt goose bumps break out over her arms, neck, and back at the sensation and then one of her elbows gave way and she fell onto the floor with a thud.

For his part, Rick removed himself from the mat gracefully and stood to his feet, extending a hand in some kind of victory gloat. She was reluctant to take it but then his smug grin turned to a caring smile and she took his hand in a sort of peace offering, promising herself that the time for revenge would come.

After that last game of Twister they packed up and decided to start their day on the beach. It was almost ten thirty and lunch would be in an hour and a half so it was plenty of time to absorb some sun and do some swimming to work off the girls' suppressed energy.

They all went their separate ways to get changed into beach appropriate attire.

As Rick stood in his room, sliding on a pair of board shorts he couldn't stop his mind from flashing back to the last moments of their Twister game. He had felt his stomach clench in a way that had nothing to do with how he was holding himself as he breathed in the scent of Kate. She smelled like cherries, vanilla, and a hint of coffee. A memory his stomach twisted and her realized he was in trouble. Kate was an attractive woman and he'd told her as much. Well actually he'd called her hot but it was close enough. It was part of the reason he started talking to her in the first place. When he had offered to take care of her child on a whim he never thought she'd have this kind of affect on him.

He stepped out of his room, bare chest-ed, with a bottle of sunscreen in hand and came face to face with the object of his musings. Kate was wearing a one piece with a scarf tied around her hips. Her costume wasn't revealing by any means but all Rick could see was skin. The skin of her shoulders and legs, the skin of her back where the swimsuit didn't cover, and most of all the skin of her abdomen where the swimmers had strategically placed cuts in the fabric. Oh yes, Rick was definitely in trouble.

"Rick!" Kate yelled to get his attention. He'd been staring and hadn't heard her talking to him. When Rick met Kate's eyes though she was smirking, showing that she at least knew some of the power she possessed over him.

"Ah yeah?" Rick was failing to redeem himself.

"You do my back and I'll do yours? With sunscreen I mean." Kate clarified.

"Sure. That'd be great actually. Usually I get Alexis to do it but she misses spots and I come out looking like some kind of giraffe. She thinks it's hilarious. It wouldn't surprise me if she did it on purpose." Rick joked dissipating some of the tension he was feeling. Kate chuckled taking the lotion from his hands and moving behind him. She slapped a large dollop onto his back, rubbing it in efficiently. She was done sooner than Rick would have liked but she was quickly standing with her back to him, having returned the bottle to his hand. He kept up his side of the agreement and gently started rubbing the sunscreen over her shoulders, noting the tension that she carried their. He wasn't taking it slow but he wasn't exactly doing it was quickly as Kate had. She sot him a glare over her shoulder and that seemed to make him hurry along.

"Just trying to be thorough Kate, there's no need to get nasty about it." Rick stated finishing off.

The girls came running into the living room then, both in their one piece swim suites and each parent took on the responsibility of slathering their child in the liquid protection.

"Are we ready to head down?" Rick asked. The two girls nodded while Kate picked up two towels and a book from one of the bags she had brought.

"Lead the way." Kate commanded as she wrapped the book in one of the towels, following Rick and the girls out the back door of the house and straight onto the beach.

Kate set up her towel and sat down, book in hand.

"Seriously Kate? You're not coming in?" Rick asked incredulously.

"Not yet. Let me relax and soak up the sun a bit. You're the one who told me that today was about relaxing."Kate countered.

"Fine, but if you don't come in of your own free will I shall eventually be forced to throw you in." Rick warned.

"Duly noted. Now go make sure the girls stay safe." Kate told him. Their respective daughters were already at the waters' edge shrieking and jumping the small waves.

Once Rick was an acceptable distance away Kate uncovered the book she had purposely kept concealed in Alyssa's towel. The book _A Skull for Springtime_ was one of his. It was from earlier on in his career and wasn't like the Derek Storm Series that he was currently four novels into but it was still one of her favourites. The subtext resonated with her. She'd kept it hidden because his ego was too big already and she knew that having only known him for a month. The last thing she needed was Rick Castle taking an ego trip at her expense.

She looked up one last time to check on the girls and Rick before submersing herself in the story.

* * *

><p>Kate woke up to the sound of two girls chattering away. She opened her eyes and expected to she the sun but instead saw a rainbow of color. It was then that she realized there was a large beach umbrella over her and she was in the shade of it.<p>

"Ah, good afternoon sleepy head." Rick greeted her and she turned to look at him and the girls who were sitting under a similar umbrella eating.

"What time is it?" Kate asked rubbing her eyes.

"Around half past twelve. You didn't miss much. I just finished making lunch. Are you hungry?" Rick asked but he was already standing up and plating her up some food from the esky and small table with barbequed meats that were next to him.

"Uh sure. Where'd the umbrella come from?" She asked as he handed the plate to her.

"I didn't think you'd like to wake up looking like a lobster so I grabbed it when I went to start preparing lunch."

"Oh, thanks."

"No problem." Rick shrugged.

"Did you girls have fun swimming?" Kate asked in between bites of food.

"Yeah! You have to come in after lunch Mommy!" Alyssa told her.

"Okay, I think I can manage that." Kate replied, smiling at her daughter.

She was loving today. She rarely got days like this with Alyssa. Even though Aly had been playing with Alexis most of today it felt good just to relax and be Mommy Kate rather than Detective Kate Beckett. She basked in the glow of family that she felt being here with her daughter as she finished her lunch.

"So, _A Skull at Springtime_ hey?" Rick asked, having seen the book fallen on her chest when she was asleep.

"Keep it to yourself Rick. I don't want to hear it." Kate replied, trying to prevent and ego trip.

"I was just going to say that you have impeccable taste is all."

"Mmm Hmm." Was all Kate said before turning to talk with the girls, hoping to diffuse the line of conversation Rick was pursuing. It seemed to work because he joined in animatedly with Kate and the girls, talking animatedly about the latest episode of their favorite cartoon.

Half and hour later the alarm on Rick's watch went off signalling to the girls that it was okay for them to go back into the water.

"Come on Kate, you're coming in too, or am I going to have to carry you over there?"

"I'm coming in." Kate said standing up. Alyssa took her hand and Rick watched as Alexis went to Kate's other side and took her other hand as well. The girls then proceeded to drag Kate towards the water, although it wasn't so much dragging as it was pulling along because Kate was going willingly. Rick wasn't far behind them.

The water was up to Rick's chest while Kate was submerged up to her neck. The girls were a little closer to shore, choosing to stay where they could touch the bottom. Rick approached her with an evil smirk on his face, not even trying to hid the fact that he was about to do something horrible to her.

"I'm warning you Rick, don't try it. I will take you down." Kate threatened but Rick didn't even flinch. He had greater body mass than Kate and figured he could take her down. He continued his approach and when he was close enough to grab her he lunged forward and attempted to dunk her under the next wave. What Rick forgot to take into account though was that Kate was trained to take down people bigger than her and she was not afraid to use that training on this man. Before Rick knew what was happening his legs were kicked out from under him and he was breathing in salt water. He came up spluttering.

"I warned you Rick. Maybe next time you'll listen." Kate laughed as he coughed, still recovering. Kate could hear the girls cheering for her from a few feet away and she rose her hands in victory and their cheers became louder.

"Hey, what about me?" Rick asked breathlessly.

"You'll live." Kate deadpanned.

"Yeah, you'll live." The girls echoed. Kate laughed at the incredulous look on Ricks face and then started taking the waves in.

* * *

><p>The group had walked to the pier after having showers and changing into more suitable clothes for the evening. They had watched the fireworks sitting on the very end of the pier that was a couple of hundred metres up the beach, Rick and Kate on the outside with Alyssa and Alexis squeezed between them. The fireworks hadn't finished until eight and by that time Rick and Kate had two very tired girls on their hands who didn't want to walk. Eventually they both relented and carried their offspring down the beach back to the house, talking to each other in hushed whispers so as not to disturb the two girls who were sleeping lightly on their shoulders.<p>

When they arrived back at the house, Rick settled Alexis on the couch and grabbed Kate and Alyssa's bags from beside the front door and followed Kate out to the car. She was strapping a sleeping Aly into the back seat when he came up behind her, asking quietly for the key, gesturing to the bags he held in his hand.

She gave it to him and he stowed two bags in the trunk, keeping Kate's handbag for her to put on the passenger seat.

"It was really great having you up here." Rick said as Kate shut the car door near silently and turned to face him.

"Thanks for having us. I don't know if I mentioned this but your place here is amazing. Thank you for sharing it with us."

"The girls had a good time so it's all good. And I had a really good time as well. I think I should be thanking you for that." Rick countered and Kate nodded, accepting the semi-unspoken thanks.

"When will you be back in the city?"

"We're coming back late Sunday afternoon. Is your Dad right to take Alyssa till then?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. He said he'll be fine with it. I'm still reeling a bit from the other week but he doesn't want to talk about it and I can't exactly make him."

Rick smiled a sad smile of understanding.

"Well I'll see you on Monday then, I guess." Rick said, bouncing on his toes.

"Yeah, see you then." Kate stepped in for a hug. It was something new for the two friends but it felt right. Her arms around his waist and his arms around her shoulders, they seemed to fit. Rick squeezed her tightly for a moment and then pulled back.

"Drive safe. Text me when you guys make it home okay. I don't care what time."

"Okay." Kate smiled at his concern. He opened the door for her and she got in, accepting her hand bag which he was holding out for her.

"Oh and Kate?"

"Yes Rick?"

"Get some sleep, yeah?" His voice was laced with concern.

"I'll try." Kate promised. With that Kate started the car and Rick closed the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi guys, sorry for the wait on this chapter. I was busy Sunday, Monday I think I just slept most of the day, and Tuesday I spent with a good friend of mine. Also in the course of the past three days my laptop threw a spaz and turned everything red for two days but for some reason is miraculously better today and my pen ran out of ink. For those who don't know, I'm writing most of this by hand first and then typing it up. Apparently the pen I was using could only pump out about ten thousand words. It was hard to find a new pen that I liked but I managed. Anyway… enough of my rambling about my stationary obsessions… **

**This chapter is the longest so far. I'm not too fussed on the beginning but I really like the end.**

**I really liked ticklish and light hearted Kate. I can see her being that kind of Kate around her daughter. **

**Once again, you guys are amazing! 93 story alerts! OMG that just blows me away!**

**Thank you especially NCISchick, Alex Beckett, Caskettfan, Jaz-LiL-Bai-Kay, pnxgrl, angelthree17, hhooppyy, GHSchade, keal, Lady Ailith, and fanka77 for your wonderful reviews and great suggestions! **

**Keep being awesome guys and I would love to hear anything you have to say.**

**Love Sacha**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Tuesday July 9th 2001**

Rick was sat at a local coffee shop, laptop in front of him, typing away. This was one of his favourite writing spots. It was a bit of a hole in the wall but you'd be hard pressed to find a better coffee in all of Manhattan.

Alyssa and Alexis were a few blocks away at a holiday workshop for kids hosted by the American Museum of Natural History. Rick had booked Alexis into the program while school was still in term and she had begged her father to get Alyssa into it too when Rick had reminded her that it was coming up. That was what had left him here with three hours to spare.

He'd taken his laptop with him, hoping to get some writing done. He'd finished the latest Derek Storm novel but there was always more to write. The past year or so he'd been working on children's books on the side. They were aimed at kids Alexis' age and were so far unpublished, not that he'd extended a great amount of effort into putting them out there. Mostly he just read them to Alexis as a special treat at bedtime. One day, perhaps when Alexis was a little older he would push to get them published, or perhaps self publish them but right now one detective series was enough work when you had an excitable eight year old. More published books meant more deadlines, more interviews, and more meetings and that was something he wasn't willing to get into right now.

His phone rang just as he was about to finish off the first chapter of a new book.

"Hello?"

"Hi Rick." Kate's familiar voice came easily down the line.

"Kate, quick, if you were a ten year old girl and you had to choose between solving a mystery in an old abandoned library or the national museum, which would you choose? Keep in mind there is the very likely possibility of dinosaurs and zombies in each."

Kate's laughter came through his receiver. "What?"

"It's for a book I'm writing, never mind. What's up?"

"A book? Didn't you only just finish your last Derek Storm? And that plot line sounds far fetched even for you."

"It's not for Derek Storm, it's a side project. And what was the comment supposed to mean? Just how well do you know my books?" Rick asked, the new information making him grin.

"Never you mind. I was calling to see how the girls are going." Kate said, swiftly changing the subject.

"They've got another two hours or so at their workshop." Rick replied, rolling with the change. "What are you up to? You're not calling to check up on me are you? Worried that I might corrupt your daughter?" And he was still teasing.

"No, should I be?" Kate threw back at him with a certain amount of what Rick could only describe as sass. "Actually I'm calling because for once it's been a slow day. I finished my paper work and the Captain's sent me home for the afternoon."

"So you would like your daughter back then?"

"It would be nice, but if she's still got a few hours of the workshop left I can wait." Rick heard cars passing and horns blasting, indicating that Kate had just walked outside.

"Well, what are you planning to do until then?" Honestly, Rick wanted to spend some time with his friend. It was rare that they got to sit down and chat without the girls around and he wanted to talk to her about a few things. This was a rare opportunity he wasn't going to easily pass up. The girls were busy, Kate was free, and he had little better to do.

"I don't know. Where are you? Want some company? Maybe I can help you answer that question you asked me before. Of course, you're going to have to let me read the whole thing." Kate had read his mind.

"Yeah, or not. But come down anyway. Have you ever heard of a little coffee place called Saint?"

"Can't say that I have. Where is it?" Kate asked, stepping to the curb to hail a cab. Rick rattled off the address in her ear. "Great. I'll see you soon then." Kate fare-welled him before hanging up. It took her a few goes to hail down an empty cab but once she had it was a reasonably quick trip, for middle of the day New York anyway.

Rick spotted her before she saw him. He stood and waved while she briskly walked towards him.

"Hey." Rick greeted her, waiting for her to take her seat before he himself sat in some ancient form of chivalry that wasn't completely lost on Kate.

"Hey." Kate echoed.

"What's your poison today?"

"Usual." Rick signaled a waitress over and order Kate's coffee and another for himself.

"Now, I know this may surprise you but I have purely selfish reasons for ordering you coffee." Rick told her after the waitress left with their order.

Kate laughed. "Are you really that stuck with your writing?"

"No, not about my writing. I wanted to talk to you about a few things."

Kate immediately sobered, her relaxed posture disappearing, a stiff, all business pose in its place.

"Okay, sure." She sounded so uncertain, as if expecting the worst. It startled Rick slightly. What could she possibly think he was going to say?

"Hey, relax alright? I wanted to talk about what's going to happen when the girls start back at school is all."Kate visibly eased.

"Oh, well I suppose we could do weekends and some weekdays so the girls can still spend time together." Kate suggested casually, unsure of where this conversation was going to lead. She enjoyed spending time with this man almost as much as her daughter enjoyed spending time with Alexis but she didn't want to come off clingy, especially if he was looking to get some distance.

"Actually I was thinking that I could pick Alyssa up once or twice a week. You know, when you have to work late. The girls can come back to the loft and do homework and then they can just spend time together."

"Sure. That sounds good." She internally sighed, happy that he was looking for more contact rather then less… for the girls of course. "But, what about your book tours?"

"Well obviously we'd have to change plans for those weeks but we can just set it up week by week depending on our schedules. Nothing has to be set in stone."

"Ok. That would be great. That way if you have anything in the city that's going to keep you maybe I can grab Alexis." With the added bonuses of having to have at least a half decent conversation with each other every week to plan what was happening with the girls.

Kate mentally slapped herself. For the life of her she couldn't figure out where this desperation to spend time with him was coming from. Sure she liked him but it wasn't something that she had any plans of acting on any time soon. She didn't think she was in this deep yet. 'When did this happen?' She wondered.

She continued what she was saying without missing a beat despite the distracting monologue going on in her mind. "It would make it a little fairer for you. I almost feel like I take advantage of your generosity. You don't let me pay you, or pay for anything you get for Alyssa."

"Money's not a big deal for me. Seriously, I hardly spend much on her." Rick replied honestly. Kate was no stranger to money. That was probably why the thought of Richard Castle buying lunch and such for her daughter didn't bother her. Growing up her family hadn't had millions, but they weren't poor people. Her mother's job as a lawyer had made them fairly well off. Kate knew that there was only so much money you could save and only so much money you could spend. These days though, living as a single parent on a detective salary, she didn't have the same ease with money that she had had when she was younger. She would never ask for money but she had long ago learned to take blessings where they came.

"In any event, I would love to spend time with the girls. We can have a few girls' days out. I know it's been beneficial for Alyssa to have you in her life, hopefully it will be the same for Alexis and me." She had noticed the change in her daughter's behavior in the past month or so. It was only slight but it was there.

"I have no doubt it will be. Actually that's the second thing I wanted to talk to you about." Rick mentioned just as their coffees arrived and were placed on the table before them. "I've got a couple of meetings coming up for the latest book. They're fairly flexible time wise but I was hoping that maybe you could take Alexis for a day or two in the next few weeks. Only if you've got some days off of course." He held her eyes for a moment and what she read in them was expectation and not the good kind either. It was the expectation of disappointment. If she was reading him right it was years old. She'd caught glimpses of this Rick before, the one who had baggage behind his carefree celebrity persona but this was the first time she'd been able to identify where some of that baggage lay.

_Hmm, maybe that's where wanting to maintain a deeper friendship with him came from. Seeing the person behind the façade. What was it that he'd said to her not weeks before, "I helped because I saw a woman who needed someone to help her bear her burden." _She thought to herself.

"Yeah of course Rick." She said out loud instead. "I'll have to get back to you with exact dates after I talk to my Cap' tomorrow but consider it a done deal. It's the least I can do." Rick expelled a breath neither realized he was holding.

"Thanks." They fell into a lull of silence as they sipped their coffee.

"I think this is the best coffee I've ever had." Kate said, holding the cup up to inspect it, extremely impressed. She took another sip and savored it in her mouth before swallowing.

"I've yet to find a better anywhere in New York." Rick told her. The silence fell back over them and Kate broke it once again, but this time with a topic more serious. She hadn't planned on telling Rick about this but he was here, he was her friend and his words came back to her mind. _A woman who needed one less burden in life_.

"I ah, I talked to my dad on Sunday." He immediately sat up straighter, intent on listening. She'd found something out and he cared enough to want to know what was going on.

"Okay, what did he say? Did he explain all the appointments lately?"

Kate nodded and set her cup on the table in front of her, placing her hands there too, fingers fidgeting.

"Yeah, he's umm… They've found something wrong with his heart. They're not sure what. It's a process of elimination." Kate took a deep breath upon finishing.

Rick's hand moved to cover hers of its own accord. Kate closed her eyes for a second, basking in the comfort provided by just a simply touch.

"I'm sorry Kate." His voice was laced with deep sympathy and concern.

Kate squeezed his hand in thanks.

"It might not be anything major and he's still okay to take care of Aly but I don't know if not knowing makes it better or worse. I mean, not knowing means we can't do anything about it but knowing is going to make it real."

Rick offered her a sad smile. She squeezed his hand again one last time before withdrawing hers.

"What time did you say the girls' finished?" Kate asked, changing the subject. The pain she'd allowed to dominate her face disappeared in what Rick could only imagine was a well practiced move.

"Around three, so there's still another hour to go yet."

"Okay sure." Kate said bobbing her head.

They dissolved into good-natured talk about how Rick and Alexis spend the rest of their time in the Hamptons and this one case that Kate's work. Particularly this one case where two young kids had been left alone in a hotel room on the twenty-seventh floor. They'd gotten bored and decided to start dropping fruit and other kinds of food on the 'ant like things' below, that they didn't realize were actually people. When they had run out of fruit they escalated to furniture. There was no malicious intent, just two kids wanting to see what happened when you dropped things from such a height.

"Where were their parents?" Rick asked, outraged.

"The hotel gaming room."

"Idiots, please tell me they got some kind of punishment."

"Negligent Homicide. I don't know how the prosecutor did it but she managed to get the jury to find them guilty of it."

"Good on her." Rick complimented. As that line of conversation tapered off Rick checked his watch. They'd have to leave in about fifteen minutes to get the girls.

_It's now or never_ he thought to himself.

"Kate?"

"Mmm?"

He floundered for a moment, struggling to find words, something that, as a writer, he was unaccustomed to.

"I uh… look, I just want to throw this out there. I really don't want it to ruin our friendship, or the girls' friendship. Especially not the girls' friendship." Rick watched as Kate visibly tensed again, putting on a poker face. "I just wanted to know if I were to ask you out… on a date… what kind of reception would I get?"

Kate's face dropped from poker face to surprise, to thoughtful and then went right back to unreadable.

"Hey, I'm sorry. It was just a though. I wanted to put it out there so I knew. Don't dwell on it okay. We're still friends right?" Rick babbled, trying to back peddle.

"Rick, I uh…"

"No it's okay, really. I'm sorry for bringing it up." He was stumbling over his words now.

"Rick, let me speak for a sec okay?" Kate requested.

"Uh, sure, sorry." Rick apologized sheepishly.

"If you were to ask me out on a date, my first response would be yes." Rick started to look hopeful but Kate continued before he could actually ask her out. "That would be my first response. But like you said, I don't want to hurt the friendship Aly and Alexis have if something was to go bad between us. Perhaps even more than that, I don't want to damage the friendship we're forming here Rick. Besides all that, I don't have a whole lot of free time. I know you know that first hand Rick. Dating you would be great, I like you, quite a bit actually and I'd like to get to know you more. However, I think that getting to know each other as friends right now might be the way to go. If we can get through being good friends for another couple of months and the feelings are still there then maybe we can talk about a date. I just don't want to involve all the messy relationships stuff before we need to, you know."

Rick nodded, dejectedly but hide his disappointment well enough.

"I'm not saying no. I'm just saying, don't ask me yet." Kate said, frustrated at herself for being so level headed.

"Okay, I can deal with that. Friends though, right?"

"Absolutely." Kate tried to portray hope to him through her eyes. He seemed to pick it up because he was soon smiling again.

"Shall we go pick up our daughters?" He asked, already standing.

"Lead the way." Kate replied, following him out of the coffee shop.

She found herself feeling better now, freer. She knew where she stood with Rick and they'd managed to have a conversation that, while slightly awkward in itself, hadn't made their time together after awkward. Surely, that was a good sign of a decent friendship.

**A/N: Hey all, a few notes about this chapter:**

**1: I'm not too sure of it. I didn't really like it when I wrote it by hand, I like it better now but it's still not ideal. That's going to happen though. It moves the story onward and once again, sets me up for the next three chapters.**

**2: That thing about kids throwing stuff out of a hotel window while their parents were in the gaming room is actually true. Well I don't know about the conviction but it did actually happen. **

**3: One thing I did like about this chapter was the look inside Kate's head we got. We've seen inside Rick's a lot lately but now we kind of know what Kate's thinking too. **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Girls' Day Out!**

**Feel free to send any good GDO in NY idea's my way.**

**And once again, you guys blow me away! Whoever it was who told their friend to read this, you're awesome! Thank you so much for spreading the word!**

**After chapter 5 I passed 123 story alerts (That's 123 people semi-committed to reading this story and that's an amazing feeling for me) and I also reached 50 reviews. **

**Special thanks to NothingOrdinaryJustMagic, Onelife30, Mara Mcgregor, phnxgrl, JasmineBelle7, zats, Alex Beckett, fanka77, and NCISChick for your awesome reviews. Also to those who've been dropping me PM's I love talking with you guys! Feel free to drop me a line anytime. **

**Same goes for the people following me on Tumblr. You guys are awesome! **

**Love Sacha.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Thursday, 18th July 2001**

"Where to next?" Kate asked the two girls standing to her right. They were just leaving Peanut Butter & Co. where they had enjoyed lunch. Kate wasn't quite sure if anything containing white chocolate peanut butter could really be counted as lunch but it was a girls day and they were entitled to a bit of junk food. Kate herself had stuck to classic peanut butter, not game to face the sugary concoction the girls had insisted on.

Alyssa shrugged her shoulders.

They still had about three hours to kill before Rick was due to pick Alexis up. Both the girls looked absolutely wrecked and honestly Kate wasn't surprised. Alexis had slept over at Kate and Alyssa's apartment last night. They had been talking well past ten and had then been up at six, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

After breakfast Kate had taken the girls a few different places, including the giant piano at FAO Schwarz believing that every native New York kid needed to go there at some point. She had actually been kind of surprised to discover that Rick had never taken Alexis there.

"How about we head home then?"

"But home's boring." Alyssa moaned up at her mother.

Kate rolled her eyes but then thought of something else that every young girl should have an opportunity to do.

"I've got an idea. Let's drop by a craft shop and pick up some string and then we'll go home and make some friendship bracelets. Does that make home sound less boring?"

"Definitely!" Alyssa cried, regain bounce in her step. "Do we get to choose the colors?"

"Sure." Kate replied, grabbing both children by the hand to cross the road. She had just spotted a conveniently located craft store which meant they didn't have to catch a cab until they were ready to go home, which ultimately meant more money in Kate's back pocket.

Entering the store Kate followed the signs at the top of the aisles and led them to an entire wall filled with a rainbow of embroidery floss.

"Woah." It came from Alexis and it made Kate smile amusedly.

"Okay, you can both pick up to six colors but you have to pick at least two, okay?"

And then they were gone, absorbed in there own little world of color selection. Kate picked five colors of her own: black, grey, tan, white, and red.

It took Alexis and Alyssa almost twenty minutes to choose their colors but Kate ended up buying a total of twelve bundles of the thread because the girls had duplicated on a lot of colors.

It was a further thirty minutes before the finally made it through the door, the girls eagerly heading for Alyssa's room to grab the pillows Kate had told them they would need. As she watched them run off it became painfully obvious to Kate that she would not get a chance to grab her bearings and take a breath before diving into the next activity with the girls. She sighed a followed suite, heading into her room to put down her bag and pick up a pillow, grabbing a bag of safety pins from the barely ever used sewing kit that was in her side cabinet.

When she emerged both girls were sitting on the couch, pillows in their laps, in eager anticipation of the activity that was to come. Kate sat down next to them, safety pins, scissors, and string dumped on the pillow in her lap. She chatted to the girls as she cut up the embroidery floss into equal lengths, handing them their requested colors once they had been tied into a bunch and the safety pin attached.

"Okay, so pin the string to your pillow." Kate watched the girls as they did theirs before quickly doing her own. "Then it's easy, we're just going to tie some knots. Watch me." She demonstrated three knots using the Chinese Staircase method of bracelet making. "Think you can do it?"

The girls turned their focus onto their string and attempted to make the knots in the same fashion as Kate. Their knots were not as neat as Kate's but it was to be expected. They were pretty good though, for first timers.

"Make sure you count the number of knots so that all the sections are even. When you want to change color just pick another color and put the one you were using back in the bunch." Kate tutored, continuing on her own project.

"I'm going to make one for you, Alexis." Alyssa told her friend who was sitting to her right.

"Awesome! I'm making mine for you." Kate smiled at Alexis' reply.

"Who are you making yours for Mommy?" Alyssa asked, turning to her mother.

"I don't know. I think I'm making it for me." Kate smiled down at her daughter and then changed colors on her bracelet.

"No, you _have_ to give it to someone Kate. It's a friendship bracelet, not a bracelet-makers bracelet." Alexis explained.

"Yeah, Mommy. You've got to give it to someone. I know, you can give it to Rick!" Alyssa decided for her mother.

"But then I won't have one."

"Daddy can make you one. I'll teach him to and make sure he gives it to you." Alexis piped up again.

Kate grinned at the thought of Rick sitting on the couch making friendship bracelets while his eight year old daughter instructed him on how to do it properly.

"We'll see, okay?"

"That means okay." Alyssa tried to whisper to Alexis but she was louder then she knew and Kate heard her easily. She smiled, rolling her eyes again, continuing with her bracelet.

* * *

><p>Rick arrived at five in the afternoon, just as he said he would. Kate opened the door and let him walk into the colorful wonderland that was the living room. There were bracelets everywhere, in every color and pattern they could manage with the twelve bundles they had bought.<p>

"Wow, this is impressive. Did you guys make all these?" He asked Kate who merely nodded.

"We did. The girls are asleep on the couch; they passed out just before we ran out of string. Been a long day for them." Kate informed.

"What did you get up to?"

"We went heaps of places, spent the morning going to shops and had lunch and Peanut Butter & Co.." Kate then turned to him with a slightly accusatory eye. "You've never taken Alexis to the giant piano at FAO Schwarz."

"Not yet no. Just haven't gotten around to it yet." Rick said shrugging it off.

"Well we went there today."

"Oh, awesome. So the girls had fun?"

"Yeah. Hey, do you want to stay for coffee?" Kate inquired.

"Actually, my mother's coming back into town tonight and she's staying at the loft so we have to get back. Rain check though? Maybe I'll talk to you tonight." Rick said, heading for Alexis, nudging her to wake her up. "Hey, baby bird, you gotta wake up. We're going to go home and see Grams." His voice was soft and loving.

"Hi Daddy. We made bracelets." It was the first thing out of Alexis' mouth when she opened her eyes.

"Yes, I can see that pumpkin." Rick chuckled.

"Are we going now?"

"Yeah, were going to go wait for Grams. Grab your things okay, I'll meet you out here." Alexis got up slightly unsteadily and moved down the hallway to Alyssa's room.

Rick turned back to Kate. "Sorry to grab and run. So, how many bracelets did you make?"

"Just the one. All the other's belong to Alyssa and Alexis. I think Alyssa is planning on taking a bunch to school to give to friends, I encourage you to tell Alexis to do the same or you'll never be rid of them." Kate said, laughing a big.

Alexis came back down the hall way, back pack on her back, and collected a pile of bracelets. There must have been about twenty there.

"Is one of those for me Lexis?" Rick asked his daughter.

"Nope." She shook her head. "They're for my friends. You're my daddy. They're not Daddy bracelets." Kate tried to stifle the laugh as Rick got a similar speech to the one she had received from the little girl a few hour earlier.

"Oh, okay then." Rick put on a faux sad face.

"Daddy, don't be sad. Kate made one for you."

Kate stopped laughing and went a lovely shade of pink.

"Did she just?" He was looking at Kate as he said it.

"Yup! And then you have to make her one too."

He turned back to Alexis. "Do I just?"

"Yup, that's the way it works." Alexis was adamant. "Kate, get Daddy's bracelet for him." Alexis instructed.

Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out the bracelet obviously far too big for a woman's wrist.

"Put it on for me?" Rick asked quietly, meeting Kate's eyes. She looked at him uncertain for a moment before putting it around his upturned wrist and tying a quick reef knot. Rick smiled wide at her but it faded soon after. "We've got to go, sorry. Mother's due to be here in less than an hour and it's going to be hell getting back to the loft in this traffic." Rick sighed.

"Well I won't keep you. I might text you tonight, see how you've coped with all the women in the house." Kate sent a wink to Alexis.

"Okay, Alexis, say goodnight to Kate and thanks her."

"Night Kate thank you for having me." The little girl said, well versed in her manners.

"Anytime."

"Thanks again Kate." Rick said, leaning in for a quick hug.

"I've told you already it was no problem. We had a great day." Kate replied as they both pulled back.

"Okay, let's go Pumpkin." Rick was ushering Alexis out the door.

"Tell Aly I said bye." Alexis called back to Kate as her father all but pushed her through the threshold.

"Sure thing hon. Bye." Kate closed the door behind them and went to wake her little girl, figuring an extra pair of hands to help with dinner would be a nice end to the day.

* * *

><p>"Rick?" Kate's voice cracked through the line as he answered the phone. It had just gone eleven. Alexis was tucked in bed and his mother had retired to her room for the evening, after interrogating both him and Alexis about their new friends.<p>

"Kate. What's wrong?"

"My… uh, my dad just called." She was obviously upset but she wasn't crying yet.

"Oh, they found out what was wrong." He wasn't asking.

"Yeah, they did. It's um, cardiomyopathy. Enlargement of the heart. Not really much to do about it. Pills and making sure he does next to nothing at least every second day. No stimulants, no depressants. That's about all they can do. It's not serious yet."

"It sounds serious." Rick replied concerned.

"Quite honestly it's not. It could get worse but hopefully it won't. They said if he's hospitalised for it at any stage they may have to look into a pacemaker but hopefully he won't ever need a transplant." Kate relayed the details that her father had given to her not thirty minutes earlier with as much strength as she could muster.

"Okay. How are you dealing with it?" He asked, moving the focus from her father to her, not knowing if she would change the subject right back, effectively blocking his inquiry.

"I'm dealing. I haven't told Alyssa. He called after she was in bed. It means she can only go see him every second day in the holidays. School term is coming up though so it won't be too bad then I hope. She may have to catch the bus to wherever she'll be going after school though. I'll have to figure that out." Okay, so she was playing on the defensive a bit, changing the topic to the implications the situation would have on her daughter.

"We can sort that out Kate. Right now though, I want to know how you are."

"I'm… god Rick… I don't know. I mean it's not a surprise really. I mean, I've known that there was a problem for a few weeks but knowing what it is makes it more real, you know?" Rick nodded over the phone even though Kate couldn't see him. "It's just an… an adjustment. There's nothing I can do I just have to deal."

"Well, you know where to turn if you ever need help dealing, right? Anytime, anyplace Kate, really."

"Thanks Rick. Really. I think right now though I might just head to bed. I've got one more day off this week and I want to do something low-key with Aly so that telling her Grandpa is sick won't be such a harsh blow. Or that's the theory anyway."

"Let me know how it goes Kate. Sleep well."

"Ok. You too. Night Rick." Kate hung up and went about her before bed routine before climbing into bed, curling up with a pillow, and letting silent tears fall.

* * *

><p>The next morning Kate woke up not to a little girl jumping up and down on her bed, but to a knock at the front door. She dragged herself up, joints cricking because she had fallen asleep curled up in an awkward position. She ran a quick hand through her hair and headed to the door.<p>

When she opened it she was met with a young boy, probably in his first year of college, holding a clipboard and a small package.

"Delivery for Kate Beckett?" He sounded like he was asking but he was already passing her the clip board for her to sign. She scribbled her name and handed it back thanking the boy as she took the parcel and went back into her apartment, locking the door behind her. She continued back into her room and sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed, box in front of her.

It was only just seven. Usually deliveries didn't start till at least eight of a morning. She stared at the box a moment longer before carefully starting to unwrap the brown paper around it.

Underneath the paper was a little brown box with a note attached.

_Kate, I wasn't so great at making the Chinese staircase friendship bracelets so I made you a different kind of friendship bracelet…_

Kate couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she lifted the lid but she gasped slightly when she spied the beautiful silver charm bracelet.

It held about ten different silver charms on it and underneath the bracelet she found another note written in Rick's scribble.

_I suppose I should tell you the meaning behind these charms. The lion, that's your courage, the crown is your loyalty, the book is for your wisdom, the elephant is for you strength, and the bluebird is for you love. The pen is for my friendship with you, the anchor is so that you may always hope, the girl is a symbol of the amazing mother you are, and a dinosaur because, well you're just that awesome. As for the key, I'll let you figure that one out. _

Kate laughed at the dinosaur but sobered again as she read the last sentence. The smile that stretched across her face would put Rick's to shame. She hugged the bracelet close to her chest for a moment before flipping her right wrist to put it on, smiling all the while. Looking at the time she realized that Alyssa would be awake soon so she should probably make a start on breakfast.

She grabbed her phone as she headed out of her room for the second time that morning. There was no way she was letting this incredibly sweet gesture go without a thank you at least.

_**Thank you. Really. I think is the most thoughtful, sweet thing anyone has ever given me.**_ Kate hit send on the text and started about making a fruit salad.

It was only a few minutes later that she received a text back.

_**:) Anytime**_

And she knew that he meant it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I've been working like crazy at both my jobs. I've been leaving at 7ish and then getting home at midnight almost everyday. That's the peril of working two jobs I suppose. In any event I do have up to chapter 11 planned out now so hopefully I will be able to just sit down at write whenever I have the time. I must also mention that your reviews really got me through the first 1,500 words of this chapter. It was a bit of a struggle starting off and re-reading your reviews and staring at the obscene number of alerts really inspired me to keep going. You guys are brilliant!**

**Special thanks as always to my reviewers for the last chapter: lyssa414, VIOLET1213, NCISchick, zats, Lur27, KMacD, phnxgrl, JasmineBelle7, CHSchade, Alex Beckett, Maxtwo, and Docnerd89. You guys are amazing and brilliant and I love waking up to your reviews the morning after I post a chapter!**

**To all those who add to alerts and favorites, you guys are awesome too! It's great to wake up to 26 emails!**

**Well I'm off, I will hopefully have another chapter up within the week!**

**You guys rock!**

**Sacha.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Brief note because I don't like these at the beginning. There is a significant time jump in this chapter. To move the story along I will be skipping over the month of August. I may come back to it in memories at a later date.**

**Chapter 8**

**Friday 19th July 2001**

Kate and Alyssa turned up uninvited and unexpected at the loft that night. Kate was carrying a small plastic bag of things that Alexis had left at her apartment: a toothbrush, a hairbrush, a sleep shirt, and a pair of clean socks.

After being let in by Rick, Alyssa had taken her usual path to find Alexis and he and Kate were sat at the dining room table waiting for coffee to brew.

"I did have a slightly ulterior motive for coming here tonight." Kate said almost shyly.

"What? You mean you didn't just come over to drop off a bag of replaceable and meaningless items that belong to my daughter?" Rick asked jokingly.

"Shut up." It came out rather indignantly.

Rick laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. What was your other motive for coming?"

Just then the coffee machine primed and started pouring the addictive brown liquid into the two cups Rick had placed under the nozzle. Rick stood and walked over to it, still paying attention to Kate.

"I wanted to thank you."

"Mmm?" Rick had taken his eyes off her for a moment so he could heat the milk for their coffees. When Kate spoke again, she was standing right next to him. He hadn't even heard her approach.

"You're still wearing it." Kate changed where she was going with the conversation when she noticed the colored bracelet which still remained on his wrist.

"Huh?"

"The bracelet. You're still wearing it." Kate repeated.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I see yours got to you okay." It was obvious to Rick that wearing Kate's friendship bracelet meant a lot to her. More then she would probably cared to admit he dare say.

"Mmm." Kate murmured distractedly as she gently picked up his hand by the finger tips, letting her hand travel the distance from fingers to wrist so she could gently play with the knotted thread. His other hand rested against the counter now, milk heated and poured into the two cups.

"Do you like it?" Rick asked.

Kate startled at his question, having been lost in thought as she unconsciously ran her fingers over the top of his wrist repeatedly.

"What?" Though she had heard him say something through the haze of her thoughts she hadn't recognized the words themselves.

"The bracelet, do you like it?"

"I… I love it. Where did you get it so late? How did you manage to get it to me so quickly?"

"Tsk tsk I'm not telling that. It will spoil the magic." Rick said seriously.

Kate laughed at him.

"Okay then. Honestly though I wanted to come over and say a proper thank you."

Kate paused and took a step closer to him so they were now about a foot apart.

"You're a good man Rick, an exceptional father, and the best kind of friend that I could ask for." She closed the gap between them and placed a light kiss on his cheek, lingering for just a moment before pulling back. "Thank you."

Rick's smile was wide and sincere. "Anytime." He handed her one of the mugs from the bench and guided her back to the table with a hand hovering at the small of her back. It wasn't actually touching her but it was close enough that she could feel its presence; its radiating heat.

Once they reached the table Rick began another conversation.

"So have you invited yourself over for dinner too?" He asked teasingly.

"What are you having?"

"I prepared a lasagne earlier, just got to put it in the oven."

"That sounds good. I can't remember the last time I had home made lasagne. It it's anything like your other meals…" She trailed off and turned her head to yell up the stairs. "We're staying for dinner Alyssa."

Both adults laughed when they heard two excited cheers wafting down to them.

"I'll give you fair warning though, Mother will be back soon." Just as Rick finished speaking, the distinct sound of a key turning in a lock reached them, signifying Martha's arrival.

"Speak of the devil." Rick whispered to Kate with a raised eyebrow making Kate laugh even as she slapped him playfully on the arm.

Kate watched from the table where she sat as Martha floated into the loft. Placing her bags on the table at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh Richard, you'll never guess who I ran into." Martha stopped speaking when she saw Kate. "Or maybe I should be asking you who you ran into. Who is this exquisite creature, Richard?"

Rick watched the blush rise on Kate's cheeks as his mother spoke. It made him smile.

"Do you remember me telling you about Kate, Mother?" He asked, regretfully turning his attention away from Kate's face and onto his mother.

"I don't remember you telling me she was gorgeous." Martha replied, coming to stand between the two chairs that Rick and Kate occupied.

"Really? Because I recall saying she was absolutely stunning." Rick grinned, sneaking another look at Kate as he said it for the sole purpose of watching as blood rushed back up her neck and into her cheeks.

"Hi Martha, it's a pleasure to meet you." Kate interrupted the mother-son banter that was for some unknown reason focused on her. She offered her hand out for Martha to shake.

"You also. Rick tells me you have a daughter around Alexis' age."

"Alyssa. They're really good friends. Rick, do you want to call them down?" Kate requested, not willing to yell up the stairs with his mother standing right in front of her.

"Alexis! Alyssa!" Rick called loudly. His bellowing was answered with the sound of two pairs of stomping feet as the girls ran down the stairs full pelt.

"Martha, this is my daughter Alyssa." Kate said, grabbing Alyssa's arm as soon as she was in reach, pulling the girl in front of her. She wrapped one arm around her daughter's middle and rested her chin on the girl's small shoulder.

Kate turned her head so her mouth was at Alyssa's ear. "Say hello, Aly." She whispered, planting a soft kiss on the girl's cheek.

"Hello. Are you Alexis' Grams?" Alyssa greeted shyly. Rick didn't think he had ever seen this outgoing girl be nervous around anyone. She had her mother's stubbornness and it truly did shine through in her personality. She was not a timid girl.

"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you Alyssa." Alyssa smiled shyly up at Martha in reply before turning to face her mother, whispering in her ear.

"What do I call her?" Alyssa asked quietly. For some reason, not knowing what to call people really threw Alyssa off.

"Why don't we ask?" Kate told her daughter. "Martha, what would you like Alyssa to call you?" Kate asked on Alyssa's behalf.

"Anything she likes." Martha replied flippantly. Kate could see Rick making up amusing names in his head out of the corner of her eye and chortling at them to himself. She made a mental note to slap him later.

"You could call her Grams, like me." Alexis suggested. When Kate glanced up to look at her she realized Rick and Alexis were positioned as if a mirror to Alyssa and herself, something she had not noticed before.

Kate looked towards Martha for her agreement and was met with an accommodating nod.

"What do you think Aly?" Kate asked her daughter quietly. Alyssa nodded slowly and the group fell into a silence.

Rick was quick to break it.

"Girls, why don't you go finish your game and start to pack up. I'll put dinner in the oven. It'll be about a half hour or so, okay?"

Both girls nodded and said okay, preparing to scamper back up the stairs. Kate kept a hold of Alyssa though, pulling her back and kissing her cheek.

"Я вас люблю." (Ya vars lyub-lyu) Kate whispered to the young girl.

"Всегда." (Vs-yeg-da) Alyssa replied, kissing her mother's cheek in return. Kate relinquished her grip on her daughter and let her follow Alexis up the stairs while she continued to sit and chat with Martha and Rick until dinner.

* * *

><p><strong>Wednesday 5th September 2001<strong>

Rick anad Alexis arrived at Kate's apartment at the previously decided time on the first day of the school year. Rick knocked firmly on the hard wood and ten seconds later the door flew open and an almost inaudible 'hi' was thrown in their direction as Kate all but flew past them.

Rick stepped inside, guiding Alexis by her shoulders and closed the door behind them.

"Go find Alyssa sweetie." Rick instructed, slightly worried about Kate.

As Alexis went off down the hallway in search of her friend Rick followed the path the frantic Kate had just taken.

He soon found himself standing in the laundry next to her. Kate, for her part, was shoveling clothes into the washing machine. Her hair was a mess; she had on dress pants, a tank top, and an unbuttoned dress shirt that was haphazardly thrown on over the top. He continued to look her over and quickly noticed that her shoes didn't match.

"Kate." He called, trying to grab her attention. All he received in return was a very muffled 'yeah'.

He put one arm on her shoulder and use the other to gently grip her arm and spin her to face him.

"Kate, stop. What's the rush?" Kate took a deep breath and Rick watched her shoulders fall.

"Dad had Aly yesterday and a big case came in. Because of his health I had to pick Aly up by 10. I meant to get all this stuff done last night but I fell asleep. Now I have to do the washing so we actually have clothes to wear but I need to get to the precinct and it's Aly's first day of third grade and I need groceries. I haven't even made her lunch yet. She hasn't had breakfast, hell, I don't even know if she's dressed yet. And now you're here and we're not ready and…" Kate was quickly working herself into a tizzy.

Rick put a hand on each of her shoulders to ground her again.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do. You're going to do your hair, button your shirt, and put on some matching shoes. In the meantime I'll start this load and check on Alyssa. Once you're all ready you'll give me the key to the apartment, you'll hug and kiss your daughter good bye and head off to work. I'll make Alyssa's lunch or pick it up on the way and I'll make sure she has some kind of breakfast. Then I'll take the girls to school as planned, come back here, put this load of clothes in the dryer and put another load on to wash. After that I'll head off to my publisher's in time for my book release meeting and then drop by the precinct for a late lunch and to drop your key back to you." Rick listed off, in full control of the situation at hand.

For a moment Kate just looked at him dumbly but after a hasty nudge from Rick she sprung back into action without a word.

Kate shuffled off to her bedroom and Rick, true to his word, finished piling the clothes into the washer, setting it on a two hour cycle.

Rick and Kate met up in Alyssa's room, Rick putting the cut lunch he had just made into the girl's back pack, double checking to make sure she had all she needed.

Kate threw a smile to Rick, but started speaking to Alyssa.

"I've got to go now красивый. I'll see you tonight though." Kate was squatting down, making her eye level with Alyssa.

"Bye Mom. I love you." Alyssa stepped into her mother's outstretched arms and embraced her.

"I love you too. Have a good first day back. I want to hear all about it, okay?"

"Okay." Alyssa agreed, giving Kate one last big squeeze.

"I'll walk you out." Rick offered when Kate stood back up, handbag swung over her shoulder, gun and badge on her belt.

When they got to the front door, Kate relinquished her key to him.

"Tha…" Kate was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell.

"Beckett." She answered confidently. Rick had never seen her in cop mode before. He watched as she nodded, throwing in an 'okay' or a 'mmmhmm' here and there. She parted with a serious 'I'm on my way.' and hung up.

"Sorry Rick, I've really got to dash." She said, placing a hand on his arm and squeezing his bicep.

"See you later."

She was already out the door when Rick called out.

"Be safe." His voice wafted down the hall way and she waved from the elevator. Once the doors were closed and Kate was on her way down to the ground floor Rick shut the door, turning and preparing to round up the two girls so he could send them off to a day of learning.

* * *

><p>It was just after one when Kate's phone buzzed on top of her desk. She had just come back from interviewing a suspect that they found out had an air tight alibi and they were currently waiting for a new lead to pop up, or even an old one to stand out.<p>

"_**Are you busy?"**_ The text from Rick read.

"_**Got a couple minutes to spare."**_ Kate replied

"_**Had lunch? Wanna grab a bite? My shout."**_ The offer was enticing. Kate had only a granola bar for lunch and she knew she should probably have something more substantial.

"_**Sure, when and where?"**_

"_**Meet me down stairs now."**_ Without replying to the last text she grabbed her things, telling her team that she was going out for a bite and to call her if anything came up.

She took the elevator down but when the doors opened she couldn't see him in the lobby. She ventured out further and spotted his silhouette standing just outside the glass doors, looking out into the city traffic.

"Hey." Kate greeted coming up behind him.

"Hi. I do believe this is yours." Rick said, handing over the key she had given him earlier in the day.

"Why thank you. What time do you have to pick the girls up?"

"I'll have to be gone in just over an hour and a half to pick up Alyssa and then Alexis doesn't finish for another half hour after that so I think this is going to work out really well."

"Yeah. So where are we off to? Nothing to up class, I might have to dash half way through a meal if we catch a break." Kate warned him.

"How about we head round the corner? I've heard there's a good burger place there. Starts with R, can't remember the name of it." Rick suggested.

"Sounds good."

"We can have milkshakes to celebrate." He hinted.

Kate smiled but rose to the bait.

"What are we celebrating?"

"Well, you know that meeting I went to today? My books going to print this week and should be out on shelves within the next month. I'll get a final release date in about two weeks." Rick smiled proudly as the rounded the corner to the diner he was leading them to.

"So _Storm Warning_ comes out in a month?" Kate was trying desperately not to sound overly interested as Rick held the door open for her and guided her into a booth, sitting across from her.

"Yup. I wanted to ask though, I know it's over a month away and all and you don't really know what's happening with work and the girls are back at school, but would you come with me to the launch? The girls can both come. I always bring Alexis and I make sure there's something for her to do, but it would be really great to have you two there." Rick rushed off.

Inside Kate was squealing but she was doing a commendable job at keeping her outward composure.

"Ummm, that sounds great. Once you've got a date let me know and I'll clear it with the captain. Shouldn't be a problem. I have a favor to ask though." Now seemed like the perfect opportunity. She could play off her interest in the book with the excuse that if she was going to show up at his book launch with him, she had a right to know what the book was about.

"And what would that be Miss Beckett?" Rick asked, spying a waitress coming over their way.

"I get an advanced copy. Just in case I get asked any questions about it, you know?" Kate played it cool but Rick read right through it. His normal smile grew into a smirk that made Kate really regret her desperation to read the next book in the Derek Storm series. It wasn't her fault; he left it on a cliff hanger.

"Did you want that signed as well, Detective?" Rick asked, egotistical smirk still in place on his face as the waitress greeted them.

"Shut up Rick, and tell the girl your order." Kate deflected. "But since your offering, a signed copy would be great." She added in on the end, hiding a smile herself.

**A/N: First off: I live in Australia. I did look up school dates for 2001 but couldn't find any. I did a bit of research and didn't turn up anything of great use because all the answers were different. For the purpose of this story, the children are going back to school two days after Labor Day. This is in preparation for the next chapter and also because one website told me it was plausible. **

**Also, I am by no means fluent in Russian. Most of the words came from a phrase book/dictionary. I can however inform people that I am a duck, goose, cat, or a hedgehog or tell them that there is one of the aforementioned close by.**

**Translations in order are "I love you.", "Always.", and "Beautiful." It was really fun to mix my languages around.**

**Lastly, I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a bit jumpy but for where this story is going, we needed the time jump. **

**As always, thanks to my awesome alerting, favorting, and reviewing people!**

**We stand at 48 faves and 152 Alerts which honestly blows me away.**

**What gets me even more are the reviews. After this chapter, this story is going to overtake my story with most reviews. You guys are amazing. **

**Special thanks to: Thinking Outside The Bowl, VIOLET1213, Alex Beckett, JasmineBelle 7, nahbois68, zats, GHSchade, Kate Beckett 24, CatherineApple, fanka77, NCISchick, Miniwriter305, Docnerd89, and phnxgrl. **

**Stay tuned guys and girls, the next chapter is going to be a doozy. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Tuesday, 11th September 2001**

The day started off similarly to every other day over the past week. Rick and Alexis would head around to Kate's, Kate would leave around seven and Rick would lock up at a quarter past 8 when he and the girls left for their respective schools.

Neither Rick, nor the two girls, expected such and ordinary day to signify the change of the world as they knew it.

**0845**

Rick and Alexis were just around the corner from the girl's school. They had dropped Alyssa off just before 8:30. The young girl had entered the building just as the bell had rung to signify the beginnings of class. Alexis' classes didn't start until nine though. It was the reason that this routine was working so well for Rick and Kate. Alyssa started and finished school a half hour before Alexis so there was plenty of time to get from one school to the other when picking the girls up or dropping them off.

As they turned onto the street that housed Greendale Elementary a booming crash echoed around the city. When they turned to find the culprit of such a loud interruption of their day, like seemingly everyone else around them, panic over took reasonable thinking. Right there, as plain as the sun in the sky, thick grey smoke was billowing out of a gaping hole in the side of one of the city's signature skyline buildings.

Rick's first instinct was panic. 'Pick up your daughter and run!' was what his gut told him.

He took a deep breath, picking Alexis up, cradling the scared girl against his chest. Around them people were in a shocked daze, unable to comprehend the goings on around them.

He knew it was make or break time. Something was going on. It could have been accidental, it could be an act of terrorism, for all he knew it could be the start of World War 3. Whatever it was though, he needed to think through his next actions as clearly as possible.

He should double back and pick up Alyssa. And he should call Kate. Even with Alexis in his arms he managed to pull his phone out and press the little green call button twice. He received an engage tone when he placed the phone near his ear. Go figure. Everyone must be calling their loved ones right now, cell towers would be overloaded. He'd just have to keep trying until he got through like some sick radio game.

On a good morning, Alyssa's school was a fifteen minute walk from Alexis'. Today was not a good day. Sirens had erupted blocks away but could be heard loud and clear from where they were. People were beginning to panic. They were racing around, phones pressed to their ears, no one knowing which was to go. If this was an act of terrorism, they sure had succeeded in creating terror, though Rick.

"Alexis can you swing onto my back, Pumpkin?" He asked the little girl who was currently gripping fiercely to his neck. She nodded in response as Rick helped her swing around. He could feel her little face pressed into his neck as he continued their trek back to Alyssa's school, now at a speed that was a little less than a jog.

They fought their way through fearful crowds until they finally made it to the public school. He walked straight into Alyssa's classroom, Alexis still on his back. The room was full of other parents picking up kids, trying their best to explain to eight year olds what was going on without scaring them too severely. It struck Rick then that he'd have to do the exact thing very soon. He shook off that thought and looked around the room for Alyssa.

"Rick!" Alyssa called, running into his arms. He finally let Alexis down and held each girl tightly against him. He's knees burned with the awkward crouching position but he didn't care.

"What's going on Daddy?" Alexis asked when Rick had loosened his grip on them both.

"I'm not completely sure honey. But we've got to get home okay." This was killing him. He couldn't even tell them that it was all going to be okay because he honestly didn't know if it was. "I'm right here and I'm not gonna leave you two, alright?"

The girls nodded and hugged him again.

"Can I take her home?" Rick asked the frazzled teacher who was obviously scared. She simply nodded, having met Rick last week on the first day of school when he dropped Alyssa off.

He stood up and led the girls out of the school towards the loft. He was just considering calling Kate again when another loud crash sounded. He looked up and watched as smoke started billowing out of the South Tower of the World Trade Centre. Panic on the streets intensified again. People were running now, getting as far way from the Business District as possible. He grabbed both girls tightly by the arm and began in the direction of the loft, perhaps more terrified by the prospect of losing them in a panicked crowd then the attack itself at that point.

**0945**

They had made it back to the loft but the situation down town had only gotten worse. Rick wanted desperately to shield the girls from the tragedy unfolding just down the road but he needed to know what was going on and the girls refused to leave his side.

As the TV rattled on in the background, circulating that this was an act of terrorism, alerting the public to another attack at the Pentagon, and the possible danger to the President, Rick repeatedly tried calling Kate, praying for something other than the beeping engaged tone. He was about to give up when, between calling, hanging up, and calling again, the landline rang. IT was either Kate or his mother who had flown out of New York for a show not two days ago.

"Kate?" He cried desperately through the receiver.

"Rick? Have you got Aly? Is she okay? What about you and Alexis?" She was as panicked and scared as the rest of the nation right now.

"I've got her, we're safe. We're at the loft. Are you okay? Can you make it here?"

"It's all hands on deck right now Rick. Stay safe, tell Aly I love her. Make sure she knows."

"Talk to her." Rick said, placing a hand over the speaker to call her over.

"Mommy?" A terrified little voice came over the line.

"Hey baby, are you okay?" Kate was fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I'm okay. Are you okay? Are you coming to Alexis' place?" She asked quietly. It struck Kate then that neither girl could really grasp what was going on.

"I'm alright Baby. I can't come right now. I've got to go help people. I'll see you soon though. I love you okay? No matter what happens I always love you."

"I love you too, Mommy." Came Alyssa's reply and Kate could hear the tears in her voice. The only thing going through her mind was a silent prayer, asking the powers that be not to make her a liar.

"Hug her for me Rick. Hug her tight." The tears were falling now and she let them briefly, knowing that soon she would have to man up and face the terror of the day's circumstance with as much professionalism as she could muster.

"I will. Come home safe Kate." Rick instructed.

"Rick, if anything happens, promise me you'll look after her. Swear to me."

"Kate…"

"Promise me Rick." Kate demanded.

"I promise Kate, of course." Rick swore.

"Be safe Rick. Tell the girls I love them. You too. I love you too, Rick." It wasn't a grand confession of romantic love and they both knew it. It was a confession of a close friend in catastrophic circumstances.

"Love you too Kate. I'll see you when you get here." Rick said in parting, not knowing when exactly that would be.

"See you then Rick." Kate replied after a deep, composing breath. She hung up the phone and got into the waiting squad car on the side of the road next to her. She was the last person who would fit in the vehicle that was filled to the brim with other cops all heading to the same destination and an uncertain future.

**1003**

Like every other American citizen, Rick was glued to his TV screen, watching the series of horrible events unfold before his eyes. Alexis and Alyssa were playing on the floor at his feet, not willing to stray far from him. He'd explained what was going on as best he could but they still didn't completely understand. All they knew was something bad was happening and it was scaring all the adults.

Then the screen on the television changed. No longer was he watching as policemen, firemen, and ambulance crews escorted people out of the towers. He watched in horror with the rest of the world as the South Tower spewed out unimaginable amounts of smoke, the building buckling and collapsing, distributing more poisonous smoke and debris across the city streets and crushing hundreds of people inside.

Rick felt his heart stop beating and he sent up a selfish prayer that Kate wasn't at the site yet. That somehow she had been spared if she was. He moved and sat on the floor between the girls, interrupting their game to squeeze them close, kissing their heads as he tried desperately to contain the sobs that threatened to accompany the silent tears falling down his face.

**1029**

Not thirty minutes later, the roar of the South Tower and barely died away when the North Tower fell to ruins, killing hundreds more. Rick watched on in horror once again; hoping against hope once again that Kate would return to them, pleading with any god or powers that be that he would have to ell the little girl playing at his feet that she was an orphan. That the most important person in her world was gone and never coming back.

He continued to watch as the city he loved got covered in debris and more toxic smoke. As it thinned, half of it floating further out and the other half settling over the streets, he could see the city's heroes still wading through the rubble, looking for those lucky survivors. As he watched, the hours went on and he couldn't help but be heartbroken by the lack of living people they seemed to be uncovering.

**1452, Ground Zero**

She had been out here for hours, desperately longing to be anywhere else. She had looked on in terror as the buildings collapsed, leaving a gaping hole in the skyline and thousands dead. So many fellow officers and emergency response crew personal had been crushed before her eyes. She herself was just about to enter when the North Tower had collapsed. She wondered if Rick had seen it on television, if he could smell the toxic fumes from the loft seventeen blocks away. She wondered if he was holding Alyssa and Alexis close, praying that she hadn't been in the building during its collapse. She wondered if they thought she was dead.

**0238 Wednesday 12th September 2001**

The girls had fallen asleep some hours ago and Rick was extremely grateful for it. Currently they were at either end of the couch, having watched a Disney movie before bed. They'd been reluctant to go to Alexis' room and Rick had been just as reluctant to let them out of his sight, so he sat down and watched Lady and the Tramp with them, basking in the shear innocence of it.

Rick himself was still reeling from the day's events. He'd fielded several phone calls from family and friends all looking for assurances that he and Alexis were okay. At one point he'd even received a call from Jim Beckett who wanted, needed to talk to his grand daughter. Rick could only assume he'd already spoken to Kate who had given him Rick's number. It had reassured Rick that she was alive.

He was exhausted but wouldn't and couldn't sleep. As he sat contemplating the fact that the world as he knew it had been changed in the matter of hours, a timid knock sounded from the door.

It was near 3am and he knew there was only one person it would be but he checked the peep hole regardless. He swung the door open quickly and gathered a grubby Kate in his arms, holding her tight even as he lead them backwards into the loft, nudging the door closed. Kate was gripping to the back of his shirt tightly, trembling. He wasn't quite sure how but he managed to lead them to the couch so that Kate could see her daughter. She let Rick go and dropped to her knees beside Alyssa on the couch, kissing her forehead gently, brushing the hair out of her face. She didn't want to wake the girl but she desperately wanted to hold her.

Rick was at her back soon, helping her stand up with hands under her armpits.

"You need a shower Kate." He said gently, turning her around to face him. She knew how she must look although she didn't much care right now. She didn't want to have her family out of her sight. Despite what she wanted though, Rick was leading her through the study, through his bedroom, and into an en-suite bathroom. He left her in there a moment so he could rummage through some drawers. Kate's reflection stared back at her. Her skin was soot black, her hair dusty with a few scraps of rubbish and debris. Her clothes would never be wearable again. Rick came in behind her and placed a set of sweats and a t-shirt on the counter for her.

"There's shampoo and that in there. Take your time. I'm going to move the girls upstairs then I'll meet you out on the couch." Rick gave her shoulders a quick squeeze with his hands before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Kate turned on the water and stripped down, amazed by the amount of dust and dirt that had penetrated her clothing and reached her covered skin. She stepped under the burning spray of the shower, tears falling, mixing with the water in such a way that Kate couldn't distinguish one for the other.

It was almost a half past three in the morning when Kate emerged through the study door, clad in Rick's too big clothing.

Rick was sitting on the couch, two glasses of water and two mugs of what Kate assumed to be tea in front of him. There was also a small plate of food which Kate knew was for her.

"Hey." His voice wafted softly over to her as she approached.

"Hey." She spoke as she sat down in front of one det of drinks and the plate of left overs Rick had dished up. It was the only thing she'd said since she had arrived.

Rick was staring at her, assessing her. She knew her eyes were still red from crying in the shower.

"Want to talk about it?" Rick offered.

Kate shrugged in reply and he nodded, seeming to understand.

The pair sat back on the couch, sipping tea and just being for a while. Kate nibbled at her food but wasn't really eating. She had really only had a few bites when she put the fork down, not facing Rick as she spoke.

"My mother was murdered five years ago. Alyssa was three." That was all she said for a while. Rick didn't know a thing about Kate's mother. She'd never said anything about her before.

He didn't say a word as he waited for her to speak again. He didn't know how it pertained to today and its events but she would tell him what she needed to and that was okay. Eventually she continued.

"Her office was in the North Tower. I've been thinking all day about what would've happened if she was till alive and had been at work today." Rick's heard broke a little at the words but she continued almost as if she couldn't stop. "I was just about to go in when the North Tower fell. There were hundreds of people still finding their way out then. They were killed. We watched, knowing we'd just lost hundreds of our city's fines, our brothers and sisters. Yet we went back in there once the dust was settled enough. We dug Rick; we moved rubble as much as we could, calling out to find anyone who could be alive." She choked out. "We had only found three people before they told those of us who had been there all day to go home. A second wave of night duty's came in. Even though we were told to go Rick, no one did. Almost everyone but me stayed. Doesn't that make me horrible?" Kate finally south out his face with her eyes.

Rick could see the guilt and desperation in them. He opened his arms to her and she fell into him, gripping at his shirt again, sobbing silently.

"You did nothing wrong Kate. You left to check on you're daughter. I know you. You'll be back out there first thing in the morning, doing what you can. You did the right thing Kate; don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Rick hugged her tighter and let her get it out.

"Tell me about her." Rick requested once Kate had composed herself as much as she probably would be able to.

"My mom?"

"Yeah. What was she like?" Rick was hoping some happy memories were exactly what Kate needed right now.

"She was… She was amazing Rick. She was a lawyer. She was always rooting for the underdog. She did so much pro-bono work it wasn't funny. I remember when I found out I was pregnant with Alyssa. I was sixteen and petrified of telling my parents. It took me three weeks to work up the courage to tell her. When I did she was furious but she didn't yell. She never yelled. She told me how stupid I'd been and gave me a big talk on responsibility, told me how difficult it was going to be as a parent. Then when she was done, she pulled me into her arms and told me how good of a mother I was going to be. She took care of Alyssa while I went back and finished high school after the summer. Some how she worked it out with Dad and a few family friends so she was till able to work from home and appear in court as necessary." The look on Kate's face as she told Rick about her mother could only be described as awe.

"When I finished school she encouraged me to pursue my dreams and go to college despite the fact that I had a daughter. She just kept on helping me out, however I needed it. I moved to California for a while when Alyssa was eighteen months so I could go to Stanford. She would come over at least every three weeks. Just buy a cheap ticket and show up at my place, take Alyssa off my hands so I could study. When I had exam block she would come over for two weeks at a time and just take care of Aly, let me study and do my assignments so I would pass my subjects. She even supported me when I left Stanford after my first year to join the force, letting me move back home. Then one day when Aly was three she just didn't come home. Later that night a detective showed up at the door and…" Kate stopped, not wanting to go into that part of the story.

"She sounds like an amazing woman. Very similar to someone else I know." Rick commented, attempting to bring Kate back to a good place again.

"Really? Who?" His comment had certainly gotten her attention.

"You." A red blush rose on Kate's cheeks and she smiled a small smile.

The smile was followed by a yawn. "You need to go to bed Kate."

"Mmm…" She hummed but her eyes were already closing as she rested her head against his arm.

"Kate?" But she was already asleep, exhausted from the day. Rick contemplated the best way to move her and decided that he'd carried her to the guest room. He just needed a moment he told himself. He needed to prep himself to lift her after such an emotionally exhausting day. He was still building up the sill power to stand up when he fall asleep himself.

**I told you guys it was a doozy. It was very intense to write. At one point it had me in tears in a public library as I wrote and researched it. Then I had to take breaks when I was typing it out because it just became too much at some points and I had to walk away.**

**I hope I did justice to all those people who lost their lives trying to save others. We'll probably cover a bit more of that in the next chapter, get some statistics and some numbers. I'm not completely sure if it'll be next chapter of the one after but within the next two chapters there will be something a bit lighter on behalf of the girls. **

**Things are a bit off by way of Johanna's murder timeline. For sake of argument, in this story, she died in 1996 rather than 1999, so I've really just moved that and Kate's age back three years. **

**As always thanks to my many reviewers! I didn't reply to you all personally because I was trying to get this out quickly but if there's ever going to be a wait longer then I week I try to reply personally to each reviewer. **

**Shout outs to: nahbois68, Docnerd89, Lur27, zats, keal, JasmineBelle7, fanka77, pnxgrl, Alex Beckett, Catherine Apple, MiniWriter305, oldmoviewatcher, KB-RC23, NCISchick, and TheWrittenRebel.**

**Welcome to TheWrittenRebel and KB-RC23 who just started reading this week.**

**Well I'm off to bed. Hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as it is possible to enjoy such a chapter.**

**Sacha**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Wednesday 12 September, 2001**

Kate rolled over, half awake. Light was streaming across her face and she could hear the voices of little girls chattering away, but she couldn't quite place where they were coming from. She opened her eyes more fully and realized she was not at home in her bed, but on the sinfully comfortable couch at Rick's loft. She started to remember the events of yesterday, the heart-wrenching sadness that it had brought the nation. She remembered coming back to the loft and talking to Rick until she had fallen asleep.

She made a move to get up, to check the time, to hug Alyssa, and to drink some coffee. When she sat up though, instead of hitting the floor, her feet hit a soft, fleshy lump that moaned at the touch. She looked down and on the rug-covered floor was a no-longer-sleeping Rick.

"What are you doing down there, Rick?" Kate asked, tired but amused.

"Mmf. Sleeping." Kate watched as he tried to bury his face in one of the couch cushions he had been using as a pillow, attempting to fall back asleep.

She nudged him gently in the ribs this time and watched how he squirmed away from her touch.

"Rick, you gotta get up. Rick." Kate cooed, still nudging him, now with a little more force.

After a few failed attempts at swatting her foot away, Rick rolled over and captured the offensive appendage in both of his hands.

"What?" He mumbled, still clinging to her leg, unconsciously running a finger up and down her calf.

"We've gotta get up, Rick, you especially. It cannot be good for you or your back to sleep down there. Why are you on the floor anyway?"

It struck Kate as odd that he didn't simply go to his own room after she fell asleep.

"You kick in your sleep." He still sounded groggy but he was awake now.

"What?"

"You fell asleep, and then I fell asleep before I could move you to the guest bedroom; you literally kicked me off the couch. Kate. Not nice." He sat up then and after administrating a final squeeze to her calf muscle, he let her leg go.

"Coffee?" Rick asked the still silent Kate who was sitting on the couch, both feet now on the floor. She'd been caught off guard by his previous statement and wasn't sure how to react. He'd been so causal about it, like they didn't just spend the night together, even if he had ended up on the floor.

"Uh, coffee sounds great. I'm going to go up and see the girls. I've got to go soon." Kate thought a swift escape would be the best course of action and made good on her statement, standing up and heading towards the stairs.

As Kate climbed the stairs, Rick closed his eyes while the coffee maker started up. He was finally awake enough to register the events of the previous day. The girls wouldn't be going back to school today, probably not tomorrow either. He'd have to see what Kate wanted to do. She'd be going back out to help with clean up and rescue ops. It was going to be a long few weeks.

Kate opened the door to Alexis' bedroom quietly, hoping to catch the girls unawares and just watch them for a little while.

Kate's presence didn't go unnoticed though and she soon found herself sitting on the floor, a girl on either side, doing a three part clapping pattern as the girls sang along. Kate cherished every moment. It was likely that this memory was that which would get her through what was bound to be another horrific day.

The rhyme finished and the clapping stopped. Alyssa looked up at Kate, all innocence and curiosity.

"Mommy, what happened yesterday?"

Kate took a moment to mentally figure out how to answer that question. The last thing she wanted was to scare them. They needed to keep their innocence. They didn't need to grow up too fast because of this. At the same time, she owed them some kind of explanation. Kids talk at school. If she didn't give them something then it could get much worse if other kids, especially older kids, started telling them stories.

"Some bad people came and did some bad things to scare us." Kate started, not telling them more then she had to.

"That's what Daddy said. Did they kill people?" Alexis asked.

Rick had obviously told them what was going on in as little detail as possible as well. Kate couldn't refused to answer a direct question like that though.

"Yeah, honey, they did." The girls looked solemn.

"Will it happen again?" Was Alyssa's next question.

"I don't think so, Baby. I hope not."

"Are you staying home with us today, Mommy?"

Kate sighed sadly.

"No Baby Girl. I've got to go help again. I'll try to be back before bedtime tonight though, okay?" She would have to clear it with someone. Kate wasn't even sure what today would hold. Surely she'd have to go back to her real job at some point. People would still be killing other people despite this nation-wide tragedy. She'd have to find out what was going on.

"So am I staying here again tonight?" Kate hadn't cleared it with Rick but his loft was a lot closer to yesterday's tragic event than her apartment. Hopefully he wouldn't mind putting them up for a few more nights, though she couldn't really see him objecting.

"I think so. I'll come back and stay here tonight too, though. We might go home tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay Mommy." Alyssa agreed as Rick walked into the room.

"There's coffee and breakfast downstairs ladies."

At the mention of food – and in Kate's case coffee – all three girls were scampering down the stairs, Rick following along behind.

He grabbed the back of the baggy shirt Kate was wearing to stop her, even as their daughters started serving up their breakfasts.

"You're going to have to go home and change before you go to the precinct." Rick told her once she had turned around to face him.

"Yeah." She agreed, looking down at her attire. She was secretly dreading catching a taxi while dressed like that.

"I'll get the car service to take you. Maybe you can pick up some extra clothes for yourself and Alyssa, just until things settle a bit. If you keep coming back so late, you're probably better off staying here."

"That would be… Thanks Rick. One day I'll figure out how to pay you back for everything you do." Rick shrugged off her offer in his usual fashion and led her towards the coffee.

Kate left after she'd finished her first cup of the caffeine-filled liquid, holding another that Rick had made her for the road. There'd been a round of hugs before Rick walked her to the door, telling her the car service was waiting for her down stairs.

"You come home safe tonight, yeah?" It was then that Kate saw the fear and concern in his eyes that he'd kept so well hidden over the last twenty-four hours.

"Promise." She'd hugged him tightly one last time and then left. Neither could deny the jolt they got out of the domesticity of it all but neither mentioned it aloud.

* * *

><p>Rick had set the girls up with laser tag after lunch before hunkering down in his office to watch the news on his computer. They were rattling off numbers, things like thousands injured, five survivors found in the first 24 hours, countless dead. All the news stations were switching between live footage and repeating the President's press release from the night before. It was depressing and heartbreaking and made him remember the tragedy that Kate had faced five years ago that she had only really mentioned for the first time last night. He closed down the window and pulled up a blank document, hoping to clear his head of the dizzying thoughts it contained by writing.<p>

The home phone rang when he was about a thousand words into a short story; he answered it immediately.

"Hello?"

"Rick? It's Jim Beckett again. Katie said Aly was still staying with you?"

"Jim, hello. Yes, she's here. Would you like to speak with her?" Rick was thinking he'd have to invite Jim over for a dinner one night, maybe next month.

"That'd be great Rick, thanks. But first, how are you and your daughter coping with everything?"

"As well as can be expected. I don't know that the girls completely understand everything that's going on at the moment. I'm keeping Alexis out of school until next Monday. I think Kate may be doing the same with Alyssa."

"Yeah." Jim answered. There was a weighted silence that Rick couldn't quite interpret before Jim continued on. "That's probably wise. Why don't you put Alyssa on?" Jim said with a smile that was audible.

"Actually, just one last thing, would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night? I can't guarantee Kate's presence but Alyssa will be there and I'm sure she'd love to see you." Rick offered. He was rather eager to meet this man.

"Uh, sure . That sounds… that sounds good. Thanks Rick."

"Great, well I'll put Alyssa on for you." Rick said after having given the man his address.

"Alyssa!" Rick bellowed. "Pause the game you girls are playing and come talk to your grandfather!" Aly for her part sprinted out of her hiding place yelling pause and took the phone out of Ricks hand with a quick thanks.

* * *

><p>Kate returned to the loft at eight that night and rang the door bell. Both girls bolted to the door and waited for Rick to open it.<p>

The girls ran into her arms as soon as the door was open wide enough.

"We might have to get you a key." Rick mentioned as Kate stumbled in, a girl clinging to each leg. "Okay girls, go get ready for bed and we'll be up in a moment." He instructed. The girls reluctantly released Kate and it was then that Rick noticed the white strips of medical gauze that covered her forehead and left arm. The one on her forehead was hidden well by her hair and her longer sleeves that she wore today did a good job at hiding the one on her wrist. That explained why he hadn't seen them at first. Now though, she was blowing her hair out of her face and her sleeves were being pulled up by the bags she had on resting on her shoulders.

"What happened to you?" Rick was taking the duffel bags from her and cradling her face in his hands in an instance.

"It's okay Rick, just a few scrapes from debris. The ambulance crew checked me out and cleaned them up. It's really not a big deal." Kate tried to soothe him.

"Kate…" There was concerned warning in his voice.

"Honestly Rick. You can have a look for yourself later tonight okay?"

Rick nodded, seemingly accepting of this compromise.

"Let's go up and put our daughters to bed. Then I want to decompress a bit."

"Okay." Rick agreed, shouldering both bags of clothes that Kate had brought over for her and her daughter; he followed her up the stairs, putting her bag in the guest room before following her into the girls' room.

Kate took a seat next to Alyssa on the mattress that served as her bed and Rick sat similarly with Alexis.

"Can you tell us a story Mommy?" Alyssa asked, snuggling into her mother's side to get comfortable.

Kate looked up at Rick and saw the eagerness in his eyes and the excited grin on his face. Alexis was the spitting image of him like that.

"Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Johanna. She wasn't just any woman though, she was the bravest, most patient, and most understanding woman that ever lived. Even though she had no super powers she saved people every day."

Rick and the girls were enthralled as Kate told the tale of an average young woman who seemingly saved the world.

Once the story was done and the girls were tucked away in bed Kate and Rick headed back down stairs.

"Are you hungry?" Rick asked, ready to step into the kitchen and whip something up.

"Not particularly. I grabbed a bite on my way back."

Rick nodded. "So do I get to examine your battle wounds now, returning warrior?" Rick's tone was playful but his eyes read serious.

Kate nodded in concession. Rick grasped her hand and led her into the kitchen then took her by surprise when he grasped her hips and lifted her onto the counter with seemingly no effort. Kate was still giggling slightly when Rick released her and went to the cupboard that held the first aid box.

"What time do you think you'll get home tomorrow?" He asked, setting the box beside her and opening it.

"I don't know. Captain said we're playing everything by ear at the moment. Why?" She winced as he began to remove the gauze stuck to her arm.

"Your dad called again today and well, I invited him to dinner." Rick wouldn't meet her eyes, intent on the job he was doing, examining her arm.

"You did huh?" Kate was amused at how Rick seemed nervous to relinquish this information.

"Yeah, I figured if you wouldn't be here, Alyssa would be. It's okay right?" He applied antiseptic cream to the gash as he spoke. It was deep but not deep enough to require stitches.

"Rick, look at me." He was still avoiding her gaze, placing fresh gauze on her wound. He brought her arm with him as he looked up at her face, kissing the site of the injury before releasing her arm. When he had established eye contact with her she continued.

"That was really sweet of you. I'll try to make it home on time." Both ignored the fact that Kate had just referred to the loft as home.

"Great." Rick murmured, now concentrating on her head wound, repeating the process he had just performed on her arm. He finished off with a kiss to the pained area once again before offering her a hand to help her off the counter.

"Thanks Rick." She smiled at him.

"No problem." Rick replied. "Would you like anything or do you just want to sit for a bit?" He sensed that she was tired but he also thought she needed to talk.

"Let's just sit. I want to head to bed soon." Rick smiled at her and sat at one end of the couch facing Kate, who took up her spot at the other end.

"How was your day?" Kate asked, opening the conversation.

"Okay. We've pushed back the book release until October, so that's good."

Kate nodded. She took a moment and a deep breath, composing herself for what she needed to get out before she slept.

"Today was hard." She began slowly. "It was about finding bodies and identifying them rather than finding survivors." A heavy silence sat between them.

"How much longer are you on clean up?" Rick asked quietly.

"I don't know. Depends."

"How are you dealing with it?" He was concerned. Surely one did not go out on the search for bodies and not be affected.

"I don't know. Well I think, all things considered. I'm tired but before I go to bed I just wanted to…" She didn't want to actually. He'd already done so much she didn't want to take advantage of his generosity.

"Anything Kate." Rick reminded her, leaning forward to fiddle with the bracelet she was still wearing.

"I don't know how I'm going to go tonight. I'm prone to… to nightmares." That was hard enough to admit. Kate was never one to really ask for help yet here she was.

"I'll watch over you. Keep an ear out for you. Come up if I think you need me." Rick promised, seeing where she was going with this.

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely. How about I walk you up? You look exhausted." Rick stood and held his hands out for her to take.

He let her lead up the stairs with a hand at her back and when he reached the door he stopped her.

"I'm here for you." Rick reminded her.

"I know. And you know, I'm here for you right? If and when you need me."

"Yeah, I know." He held up the friendship bracelet that he still wore as if proving it.

"Goodnight Rick." Kate squeezed his hand and turned to walk into the guest room. Rick stopped her though.

"Kate, I… I know we talked about this and I know we decided not to act on anything right now but would it ruin the friendship if I…" Rick was stumbling. It was kind of cute Kate thought.

"Hmmm?" Kate encouraged.

"If I…" He didn't finish the sentence with words, just leaned in a pressed his lips to hers gently, letting her pull back if she wished. He felt her smile slightly and gently run her lips over his in return. Rick's hands found a place at her waist and kissed her lightly. It wasn't anything too serious but it felt right.

He pulled back gently, pecking her lips one last time.

"Good night Kate. Sweet dreams." He smiled and turned, heading back down the stairs and into his room, leaving Kate to get ready for bed up stairs. She didn't think she'd be having nightmares tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the lateness of this. I expected to get it out on Sunday at the latest but I've been quite sick. I was in pain on Monday and I thought it was just a tooth ache. Went to the doctor Tuesday morning, the dentist Tuesday afternoon and neither could tell me what was wrong. They gave me pain killers and antibiotics. 11:25pm Tuesday Night I went to the hospital because the pain was unbearable. I got injections and harder pain killers (they knock me out for six hours) and got home at 2:30am Wednesday morning. Then I woke up later Wednesday morning with a VERY swollen face. Went back to the doctors today, got more antibiotics and I think I'm finally improving but time will tell. **

**Moving on from my unfortunate life though…**

**Did you guys like this chapter? It was a bit filler-y wasn't it? But the ending was kinda sweet and unexpected (even for me!)**

**Next chapter should be good. The girls have been plotting away in Alexis' bedroom and they need Grandpa Jim's help to pull off their plan. **

**Final words for this A/N go like this: LadyAilith is awesome, amazing, brilliant, and just wonderful. She is my beta and she got this chapter back to me in less than 12 hours! So she is really to thank for this update. All remaining errors are mine though!**

**And my lovely, faithful reviewers! You all put a smile on my face last chapter. I was very proud with how it turned out but your reviews just made me smile. I enjoyed reading about where you were when it happened. I was eight years old and watched it on the TV before going to school the next morning and didn't really understand what was going on. **

**So shout outs this chapter go to NCISchick, TheWrittenRebel, melindaWRITER, nahbois68, Niki-NL, JasmineBelle7, Miniwriter305, Christine Spencer, Alex Beckett, phnxgrl, fanka77, KB-RC23, oldmoviewatcher, zats, CateBeckett, Docnerd89, and LadyAilith. **

**Also, thanks to you guys, this is my most reviewed story ever! Thanks so much!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Thursday September 13 2001**

Kate had left before either Rick or the girls had awakened the next morning. The surprise of the sweet good night kiss from the previous night had lingered with her all through the night, even after she had fallen into the sandman's lair.

It had been unexpected yet she hoped it wasn't inconsequential. The relationship discussion she and Rick had had all those weeks ago replayed over in her mind and she couldn't help thinking 'what if?'

Jim Beckett arrived at the front door right at five Thursday afternoon. Rick had called the girls down as he headed for the door; neither child had been told of their dinner guest.

"Grandpa!" Alyssa ran into Jim's arms as he extended them towards her.

"Hello Aly-Bug, how are you?" the older man chuckled, lifting his granddaughter up and spinning her around in a circle.

"Good. You need to meet my friend Alexis. She's awesome. You'll love her." Alyssa gushed once Jim had placed her feet back on the ground.

"Alexis," Alyssa confidently started, "This is my Grandpa. Grandpa, this is Alexis."

"Good introduction Bug." Jim praised. "Hello Alexis, how are you."

"Well, thank you." Alexis replied, smiling shyly up at him.

"And such great manners." Jim admired. "Does she get those from you?" Jim turned his focus onto Rick who had been standing aside to watch their interactions.

"Absolutely not. She picked them up on the street." Rick joked, extending his right hand for Jim to shake. "I'm glad you could make it."

Jim smiled back and shook the man's hand in return.

"Glad you invited me." he countered. "Will Katie be making an appearance tonight?"

"I think she was going to try. She left fairly early this morning which should mean she'll get off earlier, right?" Rick wasn't sure about this at all. He knew that they were working in rotations, making sure no one was at the site longer than a certain amount of time but he wasn't sure what the limit was. It was also possible that she had been called back to the precinct to deal with a homicide. He made a mental note to call her and find out what was happening.

"Oh, okay. Well I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Alyssa started tugging on Jim's hand to get his attention.

"Grandpa, will you come up and play with us for a while?" Her big brown eyes stared up into his.

"Okay, sure. Please excuse me, Rick." Jim smiled at him with a wink.

Alyssa took Jim's hand and pulled him up the stairs. Soon enough he found himself sitting in the middle of Alexis' bedroom floor.

He joined in their game, making funny voices for the characters they were creating. About five minutes in though, Alyssa abruptly changed the subject.

"We need your help with something Grandpa."

"Hmm?" Jim asked, thinking they were still in their make-believe world and it was just part of the game they were playing.

"We need you to look after us for a night so Mommy and Rick can go out and have dinner." Alyssa asserted.

"Look after you?" Jim was slightly startled by this new turn of events.

"Yeah. Mommy and Rick have been really sad lately. Did you hear about the big explosion where the people died? That's making Mommy and Rick sad." Alyssa informed her grandfather.

"Yeah, I heard about that." Jim said glumly.

"Daddy and Kate need to have dinner together so they can be happy like in Beauty and the Beast or Lady and the Tramp." Alexis piped up.

"I see." Jim said now with a coy smile. "And would you like me to help plan the dinner?" he asked mischievously.

"Really?" Alexis asked as both girls looked at him hopefully.

"Of course. What are we going to do for them?" Jim huddled closer to the girls as the three of them started to exchange whispers.

* * *

><p>Kate arrived at the loft an hour after her father and was greeted by a delicious smell when Rick opened the door for her.<p>

"We really need to get you a key." Rick mentioned again as Kate closed the door behind her. Rick was already making his way back to the stove where he was stirring some kind of sauce. "Any new injuries I should know about?"

Kate took note of the fact he hadn't even said hello yet.

"Usually people start with a hello before jumping into that kind of conversation."

"Sorry. You're dad's here by the way. He's playing with the girls." He still hadn't said hello so Kate decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Oi!" She had come around the counter and was poking him in the back with reasonable force.

"Hmm?" He was in a bit of his own world it seemed.

"What happened to that really sweet guy from last night, huh? Have you forgotten all your manners again?" Kate's tone caused him to turn and face her.

"No, I just…" he stopped speaking again and squinted his eyes as he looked at her, considering her.

"Stop with the stop/start sentences already and greet me!" Kate demanded. She wasn't prepared for what he did next.

He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers in a familiar sort of way before pulling back. "Hi."

"Uh, hi." Rick stood there looking smug.

"You and I need to talk again I think." Rick mentioned casually as her returned to his pot of sauce.

"Yeah, that's… that's probably wise. Not now though. You said something about Dad being here?" Kate asked, toes still tingling from such a light kiss.

"I did." Rick replied simply.

"I might go say hi, let him know I'm here."

"Yeah, you might want to rescue him from the girls. He's been up there for almost an hour now. Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes anyway."

"Thanks Rick." Kate replied as she walked towards the staircase and Rick knew she was thanking him for more than just cooking dinner.

Kate could hear whispering as she approached the room. She knocked lightly on the door when she reached it and heard her father call out "What's the password," while the two girls giggled at him.

"What are you three conspiring in here?" Kate asked suspiciously from the door, hands poised on her hips.

"Nothing of concern to you." Jim replied, standing up and approaching his daughter. "It's good to see you." he hugged her tightly.

"You too Dad." she squeezed him back hard. "Dinner will be ready soon though, so girls, pack up and go wash your hands okay?"

The girls left to go do as they had been instructed and Kate was left with her father to make their way down stairs.

"So what's going on between you and Rick?" Jim asked suspiciously, trying to get a reaction from his daughter.

Her face flitted in panic but she quickly put on her poker face.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, trying to evade her father.

"Well, you seem to be coming here a lot lately. Alyssa's getting pretty attached to the man." Jim tried to make the comment sound off handed.

"Well, for all intents and purposes he's her baby sitter, but you're right, Rick and I are good friends." Kate said vaguely.

"Okay." Jim's one word answer was accompanied by a knowing nod and smile. Kate pursed her lips and whacked him gently.

"Come on, time for dinner." she told him with a fake glare that was really full of love for her Dad.

Jim laughed and joined her as they walked down the stairs and into the dinning room.

* * *

><p>"So I was thinking I might take both girls for a day before it cools down too much. I'll take them up to the cabin, maybe do some fishing." Jim casually stated half way through dinner.<p>

"Are you sure you can do that with your heart Dad?" Kate asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine Katie. I think it would be great for the girls. What do you say Rick?"

Rick made a noticeable effort to chew and swallow the mouthful he'd just taken before speaking.

"Sounds good as long as you're okay with it. And you make sure you call us if at any point you need us to take them back."

"Sure." Jim nodded. "How about this weekend? Head up on Sunday?"

"That's soon." Kate commented.

"Well, I figured with everything going on here in the city…" he trailed off, letting the other two adults fill in the end of the statement.

"What do you think girls?" Kate asked the two who were still eagerly stuffing their faces with food.

Both girls nodded enthusiastically despite their full mouths.

"It'll be good for them Kate." Rick told her. Kate nodded her approval. "What time do you want them up there?"

"Does ten o'clock work for the both of you?" As the parents nodded, it was decided. "Well I'll see you then."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This one's a bit short and sweet guys. I kinda feel bad about only getting out half of my usual word count but I think the next chapter needs to stand alone and I didn't want to put stuff in for the sake of word count. **

**Also, updates are going to take longer now because I just returned to uni a week and a half ago and I have assignments up the wazoo. **

**That, and I was preoccupied for the past 2 days with the Taylor Swift concert… It was AMAZING! Just saying…**

**Anyway… Thanks to the amazing LadyAilith who beta'd this chapter with a 2 hour turn around. What service! She's awesome! Round of applause for her!**

**If you guys want updates on when Play Dates' next chapter will be out or you just wanna know what's holding me up, I'm going to try to start posting updates on Twitter. Link is in my profile.**

**My lovely reviewers… You guys blew me away last chapter! 22 reviews! For one chapter! AMAZING!**

**Thank you so much: jackiieeex13, Miniwriter305, phnxgrl, keal, VIOLET1213, zats, CharmedandTwilight31, kotaaa, Onelife30, NCISchick, calleigh4ever, Docnerd89, fanka77, KMacD, Alex Beckett, melindaWRITER, angelthree117, KB-RC23, TheWrittenRebel, colourmehappy, JasmineBelle7, KeepCalmBandBAreHavingABaby**

**You guys are awesome and I can't wait to provide you with chapter 12!**

**Love Sacha**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Sunday 16 September 2001**

Kate had offered to drive Rick and Alexis up to her father's cabin so that they wouldn't get lost and the two had eagerly accepted.

"Well this is it." Kate said, pulling up into a drive way in front of a small wooden cabin.

"It's very… picturesque." commented Rick as he sat and looked at the place through the front windscreen.

"Can we go in now?" Alyssa asked from the back seat.

"Let's all go in together alright?" Kate suggested, unbuckling her seat belt and opening her door as Rick followed her lead. The girls were already out of the car by the time Kate set foot on the gravely ground.

Alyssa had taken Alexis' hand and run up towards the front door, hand poised to knock on her mother's instruction. Before she had gotten a chance to request permission, Jim was opening the door and enveloping the girls in a hug while Kate and Rick approached.

The mob piled into the cabin and while Alyssa took Alexis to show her around, the adults gathered in the kitchen.

"So what are your plans for today?" Jim asked both adults.

"Well I'm off work so I think just a 'me' day. Maybe catch up with Rick when we come back to pick the girls up. It's been a really big and hectic week." Kate replied. She was thinking that the half hour drive home might be a good time to have that talk with Rick and after that she wasn't sure how things were going to pan out. If things went badly, she would probably just want to be alone; if they went okay, then she would probably just want to be alone to process things and think about what she was going to say to her daughter.

"And you Rick?"

"I need to review some tour dates and make arrangements for Alexis seeing as she's back at school. The happenings of this week have really thrown everything. I don't even think I've fully processed what's happened."

"I don't think anybody has really. It's one of those things that happens and in the end you have to accept it." Jim stated. "But seeing as you two aren't doing much today, I have a proposition for you." There was a sly glint in his eyes which Kate caught briefly before her father covered it with a poker face.

"Mmm hmm." Kate murmured suspiciously.

"I bought these tickets a little while back for lunch and movies thinking that I could take you Katie, a bit of father-daughter bonding. I didn't realize that they expired today so maybe you guys can use them."

Jim handed Kate a two page print out with movie tickets and lunch reservations at a three star restaurant in Queens.

"Is that so?" Kate eyed him with an interrogator's glare.

"Yeah, I'd thought it would be nice. I'm sure you guys will enjoy it though." Jim replied calmly, unaffected by his daughter's gaze.

"That sounds nice. If Kate's up for it I'm in. Thanks Jim." Rick chimed in, shaking the man's hand in thanks.

Kate sighed under her breath for a moment before commenting, "I'm in."

"Well, you two should get going then if you're going to make that reservation." Jim was practically pushing them out the door. "Enjoy yourselves, don't worry about the girls, I've got them under control."

They said goodbye to Jim and called the girls over for goodbye hugs before starting their journey back to the city.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was… interesting." Rick commented about five minutes down the road.<p>

"It was. He's conniving, that one." Kate said, eyes focused on the road.

"You okay with it? We don't have to go if you don't want to; you can just drop me at home." Rick said, trying to read Kate's body language but coming up confused.

"It's okay, I was actually… I had no idea how to start this but… I was going to suggest we have that talk." She bit her lip refusing to glance in his direction.

"The talk."

"Well, I figure, the girls aren't here, now would be the perfect time."

"You're right. So, what is the talk?" Rick asked.

Kate shrugged and took a moment to think.

"What are we?" She finally started.

"Well, what do you want us to be? Do you still hold the same views that you had a few months ago?" Rick countered.

"I… I don't know."

"I understood your view point then. If you still hold it, this isn't a now or never thing, Kate. I'm not giving you an ultimatum."

"That's good to know. I think… I think I want to make a go of things but you have to promise me something."

"Yes?" Rick encouraged.

"No matter what happens between us, the girls come first. Neither of us will drop out of the others life completely, even if we end up hating each other." Kate said conditionally.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I completely agree." Rick said, smiling.

"So, what now?" Kate asked, finally risking a glance towards the man in the passenger seat before turning her eyes back to the road.

"So, now we go on the date your father set up for us."

"Is that it?"

"For now. See where the day takes us. Let's just let things fall into place. It's worked well so far."

* * *

><p>They were seated in the small restaurant, having already ordered when Rick asked a question that would either progress their budding relationship further or shut it down completely.<p>

"So, who was he? Alyssa's father. I mean, you told me that you met in high school but... Don't answer if you don't want to. It's just the writer in me being overly curious."

"It's okay. He was my boyfriend. We'd been dating for about four months when he decided that we should take the next step. He took me on this big romantic date and then asked me to come home with him for a few hours. His parent's were out of town. When he first suggested it I flat out refused, telling him that this wasn't something that I took lightly, that I needed to go and think about it but he pulled the 'don't you love me?' card. I found out I was pregnant two months later. We'd already broken up by that point, he'd moved away. Turned out his parent's were out of town looking for a new house in Chicago. We'd tried the long distance thing but gave up after two weeks. By the time I found out I was pregnant I didn't even want to tell him."

"Does he know now?" Rick asked. There was no accusation in his voice, only curiosity.

"I think my mother spoke to his parents but I'm not in contact with him. I don't want him in our lives at this point. Being a single parent is complicated enough without having to arrange visitations and explain to your child why they only get to see Daddy once a month when everyone else gets to see their father every day. We're happy as we are. Alyssa knows she has a father; she knows he's not part of our life. I've explained to her what happened as best I can at her age and I'm sure we'll get into it more when she's older, but for now it works for us."

"I agree with the whole single parent thing. I hate sending Alexis to see Meredith. She always comes back with stories about things I really wish she hadn't heard." Rick nodded as he agreed.

Reaching across the table, he took Kate's hand gently in his.

"Do you… do you regret it?"

"Yeah, I do." Kate replied honestly. "Don't get me wrong, I love Alyssa with all of my heart. There's nothing in the world that means more to me than she does, but I never pictured my life looking like this. Single mother at the age of seventeen, struggling through high school and the police academy with a child under the age of four, then having all that I had ever relied upon ripped apart when my mother died."

Rick squeezed her hand but she wasn't upset.

"We made it through okay though. Things just seem to be getting better now. What about you? You told me you were in college when Alexis came into the picture."

"Yeah, I met Meredith in college, she was doing an acting course and I was getting stuck into my writing. We'd been dating for about six months when she found out she was pregnant. I'd just had my first novel published and I instantly jumped into doing the responsible thing and asked her to marry me. The marriage lasted all of three years before she decided she wanted out. Even then though I don't think it was much of a marriage. I think it had more to do with convenience on her part. She didn't want full custody of Alexis which made the divorce process easier, and Alexis was little which means she doesn't remember all that much about it. I do recall her getting sick one night when she had just turned three and she was screaming for Meredith. Meredith was on the other side of the country though. Ever since then, I've tried to commit to being super-dad as much as I can."

"You do a good job of it." Kate praised, smiling.

"Thanks." Rick replied and pulled his hand from hers as the food came.

* * *

><p>They exited the restaurant and started heading down towards the cinema that was three blocks away. Rick rested his hand on the small of Kate's back and Kate surprised herself by leaning into it easily.<p>

"So, what are we going to tell the girls?" Kate asked.

"Well, I was thinking just tell them the truth. I don't know about Alyssa but Alexis knows about romance. It's all those Disney movies. So if I tell her that we're dating or that we're boyfriend and girlfriend I think that will be enough." Rick replied.

"Boyfriend and girlfriend? Aren't we a bit old?"

"Are you saying you don't want to be my girlfriend? My young, hot girlfriend?" Rick stopped walking as he said it, halting Kate also. He was pouting.

"Hmmm, when you put it like that…" Kate murmured, lifting up on her toes to kiss his lips lightly. "I suppose you can be my old, rich boyfriend." Rick stepped back with a look of shock and indignation on his face while Kate laughed freely and continued walking.

Rick jogged to catch up to her.

"You're cruel."

Kate just smiled and sneaked her hand into his arm which was crossed across his chest.

* * *

><p>Kate and Rick arrived to pick the girls up at five that afternoon. When they walked into the cabin the girls were sprawled on the couch, awake but exhausted.<p>

"Looks like you tuckered them out." Rick commented.

"Yeah, I think they had a good time, didn't you girls?" Jim called over to them.

"Yup!" Both girls sat up as their parents approached.

"How was your date?" Alyssa asked through a yawn.

Both Kate and Rick's heads spun around to look at Jim.

"Busted." Jim chuckled under his breath. "It was their idea."

"You're telling me that two eight year-olds told you to set myself and Rick up?" Kate asked, disbelievingly.

"They did." Jim defended.

"Don't rat us out." Alexis chided, her voice portraying how truly tired she was.

Kate and Rick looked at each other before letting out a laugh and shaking their heads.

"Come on you two, let's head back." Rick said, pulling each girl to a standing position.

He handed Alyssa off to Kate and they each led their daughter to the car. Kate turned to give her father a hug goodbye once Alyssa was buckled into her seat looking as though she would be asleep within a few minutes.

"Thanks for today Dad." She whispered to him as she hugged him.

"So I'm off the hook?" He asked hopefully.

"Not even close." Kate replied, letting go and allowing Rick in to give her father a handshake.

"See you next time Jim."

"See you then."

Both girls fell asleep within five minutes of leaving the cabin. They slept the whole ride to Rick's loft and showed no signs of waking once the car had stopped.

"Looks like I'm going to have to carry her up." Rick said as he stepped out of the car. Kate got out and joined him on the passenger side.

"Alyssa going back to school tomorrow?" He asked.

"I think so. A bit of normalcy will be good for her. Alexis?"

"Yeah, I agree. Usual arrangement? I'll come over by seven?" Rick offered.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." Kate went to step away and open the passenger door so Rick could scoop the sleeping Alexis out of the car.

Rick pulled her back with a gentle hand on her arm.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, I can't help but notice that today's date didn't end with a goodbye kiss." Rick stepped in closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You are correct sir." Kate laughed. "Mind you, we didn't say goodbye afterwards."

"But we're saying goodbye now."

"Correct again." Kate was smiling and wrapping her arms around Rick's neck now.

"Good night Kate, sweet dreams." He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, still tentative.

"Good night Rick. See you in the morning." Kate said, returning the favor before resting her head against his broad chest and hugging him tightly. "Get your girl upstairs." Kate pulled back and tugged her shirt down where it had ridden up.

Rick reached past her and opened the door, unbuckling his daughter and scooping her up into his arms.

"Text me to let me know you made it home alright, okay?" He requested.

Kate nodded and brushed the hair off Alexis' forehead to place a soft kiss there, wishing her a quiet good night. She ran her hand down Rick's arm as he walked away, approaching the door man of his building.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Once again, big props to Lady Ailith for her amazing beta skills and quick turnaround. Sometimes living on opposite sounds of the world is a good thing :p**

**So, this was a big step forward. I hope it doesn't feel out of place with the story. Also, please understand, I'm not trying to downplay the events of 9/11 however there is a certain point where you start to get over the shock of it all. It still comes back to haunt you every few days but once the initial shock is over you have to start accepting the new reality you are in and that's what I think Rick and Kate are doing in this chapter. They went to Queens rather than Manhattan for their date and it all becomes part of the healing process. **

**Thank you to Miniwriter305 who jumped to my defense at the flame review left for me in chapter 1. All I can say about what the flamer said is that they really don't understand the story. Kate doesn't have a kid in this story to make her feel complete. She has a kid because she made a stupid mistake as a teenager. In the end, your cowardliness at leaving an anon review that wasn't relevant to the story only adds to my review count which people see so, thanks I suppose. **

**I don't know when chapter 13 will be out. Hopefully soon. I'm trying to write a chapter every Saturday that I have a chance and do some outlines and then when all my uni work is caught up. **

**Last but perhaps most important, my amazing reviewers: Miniwriter305, TheWrittenRebel, fanka77, Alex Beckett, zats, Docnerd89, KB-RC23, Caskettfan, melindaWRITER, VIOLET1213, HuddlyBBlove, phnxgrl, KaylaBeckett93, and NCISchick. **

**You guys are awesome and you make my morning every time I wake up and find I have 20 something emails with reviews and alerts for this story. **

**Speaking of alerts, this story now has 204! That's amazing guys. I love you for it! This story officially has the most reviews, alerts, and favorites out of all my stories so far. **

**Now I'll finish my 300 word A/N and go to bed watching HIMYM. Have a great day!**

**Sacha**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Monday, 17 September 2001**

Rick and Alexis knocked on Kate's door punctually at seven the next morning and as usual Kate was in a flurry getting ready. She threw the door open and continued to fly around her apartment.

"You know one of these days it's going to be a mugger at the door." Rick called to her as Alexis followed her usual path to Alyssa's room.

Kate emerged from her bedroom, a toothbrush in her mouth. She removed it briefly to talk around a mouthful of toothpaste.

"What kind of mugger goes around knocking on doors?" Rick replied as she retreated to spit and rinse. "One who knows your habits." he called. He heard Kate laugh and then she appeared, bag in hand, high heels on.

"You going to stay for dinner tonight when you pick Alyssa up?" he asked when Kate stood before him.

"Actually, I've got set times today. Finish at six. How about you bring Alyssa home, if you get here at, say, seven, there's a good chance that dinner will be on the table.

"You mean, you know how to cook?" Rick said with fake shock.

She slapped his arm. "Alyssa and I have been known to survive off of more than take out, even before you came along."

"Well I wouldn't want to miss this. We'll be there." Rick said with a smile. "Wine?"

"Sounds good." Kate glanced down at her father's watch and her eyes bulged. "Crap! I gotta go." she said as she tried to speed out the door. Rick caught her arm before she could get far.

"Alyssa, come say goodbye to your mother; Alexis, say goodbye to Kate." he called down the hall. Both girls came into view shortly after.

"Bye Kate." Alexis hugged her. She stepped back and Kate ruffled her hair as Alexis smiled up at her.

"Bye honey."

Alyssa's hug came next and it almost knocked Kate over.

"Bye Mommy, have a good day."

"You too sweetie. You've got to tell me all about it tonight, alright?"

"Okay, love you." Alyssa replied.

"You too precious." Alyssa pulled back and then it was Rick's turn.

"Bye beautiful." he whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her, conscious of the two young girls watching them. "Be safe." He subtly kissed just under her ear.

"Always am. See you tonight." She returned the favor, kissing his neck gently. He let her go and she was out the door.

* * *

><p>It had just gone two when her phone rang and his voice came over the line when she answered.<p>

"She wants me to move to California, Kate. Or she's going to try for custody." He was mad and sounded kind of lost.

"Rick, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Meredith. She called this morning with an ultimatum – move to California with Alexis or she's going to sue me for custody. Who does that? I mean, come on!" He wasn't just mad, he was outraged.

"What… Where did this come from Rick?" I thought you said that Meredith wasn't the mother type?" Kate was confused. She and Rick had just talked about this yesterday.

"She's not, but for all her faults, Meredith does love Alexis. She doesn't think New York is a safe place for her anymore after last week's events. She doesn't want to be burdened with Alexis, but she will if she has to. Her words, not mine. " Kate heard Rick take a deep breath, probably trying to calm himself down.

"Okay Rick, you've got to be there to pick Alyssa up in an hour and then Alexis. You don't want her to have to deal with this, especially now. I want you to call your lawyer, make a meeting for tomorrow when the girls are at school, and find out how you'd fair in a custody battle. Then get out of the house, get out of your head, and go pick the girls up. Text me if you need to but I'm sure the kids will keep you in line. We'll deal with this. Don't worry. I'll see you tonight."

"Kate." He breathed her name out like she was a life-saver, which she kind of was to him right then and there.

"You're welcome. Bye Rick."

"Bye." he replied before hanging up.

He took a moment to compose himself and then followed Kate's instructions.

* * *

><p>The little girl who met him out the front of the public school was a stranger to him with her puffy red eyes and tear stained face. Rick dropped to his knees at the sight of her and caught the young girl in a hug when she ran to him. She held on tight with little arms around his neck and he hugged back fiercely.<p>

"Hey, hey, Alyssa, what's going on sweetheart? What's wrong?" he asked her when her grip loosened slightly.

"Everyone's dead except you and Mommy." she choked out between sobs.

Rick was taken aback for a moment.

"What do you mean, love?"

"Everyone in my class, their Mommies and Daddies and Aunts and Uncles died. Some of my friends don't have a Mommy or a Daddy anymore because they worked in those big towers. I still have a Mommy and a… and you and it makes me sad."

"Aly," Rick tried to soothe. "It's okay to feel sad for them. You're a very lucky girl. Lots of people lost family last week. I'll tell you something though, if you're worried about your Mommy and I, I promise, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Not if we can help it."

"O…okay." Her answer was watery but Alyssa lifted her head from where it rested on his shoulder.

"Shall we go see how Alexis' day was?"

Alyssa nodded and untangled herself from Rick's warm embrace. Once he was standing, Alyssa grasped his hand and clung to it. She remained attached to him all the way to Alexis' school.

After the sight that greeted him at Alyssa's school, he wasn't surprised to find a puffy-eyed Alexis emerging from the building. Just like he had with Alyssa, Rick knelt down and drew his daughter into a hug, pulling Alyssa into it as well after a short moment.

Although they'd agreed to meet at Kate's apartment later that night, Rick thought that perhaps a visit to the precinct was in order, considering the circumstances. He shot her a quick text, letting her know that they were coming in and then hailed a cab, on girl on either side of him the whole way there.

By the time they arrived he still hadn't gotten a reply from her but he figured she had to be coming back soon in order to finish at six. Rick led the girls into the building and after passing through security, into the lift. Alyssa volunteered to press the button, telling Alexis she could press it on the way down. The car dinged and the doors opened, revealing a bustling bullpen to the three travelers. Alyssa made a beeline for Kate's desk and quickly took up residence in the spinning office chair. Rick and Alexis followed quickly after and as Alexis went to join Alyssa at Kate's desk, a man stepped into Rick's path.

"Can I help you?" He was about a head shorter than Rick but still rather intimidating.

"Ah, I was actually just looking for Kate Beckett. "

"She's not here at the moment." If Rick wasn't mistaken, this man was Irish. "Can I take a message for her?" By the tone of his voice it wasn't a suggestion.

"Ah, I think we'll just wait here for her. The girls have had a bit of a rough day." Rick replied, trying to diffuse the issue and get over to the desk where the girls where it looked like the girls were chatting quite seriously.

"She's gonna be a while. You're the kind of man who looks like he has somewhere more important to be. I gotta say though, I don't got a lot of time for dead-beat dads."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your name." Rick tried to remain calm.

"Officer Ryan." The man replied, standing straighter, if that was even possible.

"Officer Ryan, I appreciate you looking out for your fellow officers and detectives and their respective families but I think you've got the wrong idea here." Rick was being as polite as he possibly could.

Throughout the course of Rick's conversation with the officer, a Hispanic man had approached the girls.

"Aly Beckett? Is that you? No it can't be. Too tall. She's about half your size. Great girl though, absolutely amazing." he said, coming over to stand beside the desk where the two girls were sitting.

"Uncle Javi! It's me!" She grinned up at him for a moment before her face grew serious. She stuck her fist out for him and he bumped it with his own.

"It's been too long_ mocosa_."

"Uncle Javi, this is Alexis. Alexis this is Javier Esposito. He works with Mommy." the young girl introduced.

"Hello Alexis." the man greeted. "Is that your Daddy over there?" he asked.

"Yeah." Alexis replied shyly.

"Do you think I should go rescue him from the newbie?" At that, both girls looked over to see Rick trying to plead his case with a uniformed officer.

The Hispanic man didn't wait for an answer from the girls. "Oi! Ryan, lay off."

The Officer Kevin Ryan stood down and let Rick pass over to the girls, but not without a glare.

"You must be the babysitter. Javier Esposito." The Hispanic man greeted when Rick approached.

"Rick Castle." he replied, shaking Javier's hand. "Do you know where Kate Beckett is?"

"Ah, I think she's helping with an interview at a prison. I'm not sure when she'll be back. Can I help you with anything?"

"Nah, we were just hoping to see her soonish. Been a rough day." He explained.

"Well, you're welcome to stay at her desk until she comes back. As I said though, not sure when that'll be."

"Thanks man." Rick replied with gratitude, oblivious to the dinging of the elevator a few feet away.

"Rick, what's going on?" Kate's voice was concerned. She was jumping to all the wrong conclusions.

"It's okay, I uh, I sent you a text." Kate pulled out her phone and realized she hadn't turned it on. Just as she looked up to ask Rick to explain himself again, two pairs of eight year old arms wrapped around her legs.

Even though it had been a good thirty minutes since the girls had sobbed on Rick's shoulders, evidence from their tears could still be seen in their little faces.

"Hey, what's going on girls?" Kate asked, crouching down so that she was on their level, one girl at either side of her.

Rick came over to answer for them.

"A lot of people at school lost people last week."

"Oh." Kate replied, looking up at him and then back to the two eight year olds. Putting her arms around them she pulled them in close to her before releasing. She stood up then, both girls still clinging to her. "Let me talk to my captain for a moment, see if I can get off early."

"Okay. Sure, we'll wait here. Girls, come stand with me." The girls reluctantly released Kate and came back to stand with Rick. Kate smiled a sad smile at him, grabbing his hand as she passed to give it a reassuring squeeze.

Once Kate was out of ear shot Esposito spoke. "Hey, wait, aren't you that author?"

"Uh, yeah, I am." Rick replied. He'd been an author for a number of years now but when people recognized him out of the blue it still put him in an awkward head space. He was never sure how to respond or what to say.

"Well, you're a lucky man. Kate Beckett, she's been through a lot. Half of it I don't even know about. You better take good care of her and the little one." He said it with jest, rubbing a hand through Alyssa's hair, much to her annoyance, but Rick could see the seriousness in his eyes. It spoke of the harm that would most definitely come to him if he even thought about breaking either one of their hearts.

"I know. I will." Rick replied with a nod.

"Your celebrity status will not do you any favors if you don't." Esposito assured him.

"Understood."

Kate walked out of the captain's office at that moment and started gathering her things.

"You can cover for me, right Espo?" she asked distractedly.

"Yeah, sure. Go home and be with your daughter. See you in the morning."

"You're a good man Javier Esposito." Kate thanked him with a smile and then walked over to Rick, taking Alyssa's hand in hers. Alexis came to Alyssa's side and started walking with her, giving Rick the opportunity to sling a finger around the pinky of Kate's free hand. As the quartet reached the elevator, Kate unraveled his lone finger only to link their hands together more thoroughly as they waited.

The car dinged its arrival and the group stepped in, leaving Ryan and Esposito in their wake.

"I don't like that guy." Ryan said as he stood next to Esposito.

"Yeah, well, she does. Don't worry though; I'll be calling you in to help if he stuffs up." Esposito responded.

With a final protective huff, both men returned to their work stations for the remaining hours of the day.

* * *

><p>The ride back to Kate's apartment was quiet. The girls sat in the back seat of the Crown Vic, silently gazing out their respective windows. Kate could feel the worry radiating off of Rick as he sat next to her in the passenger seat.<p>

"Okay, new plan for when we get home," Kate declared once she'd finally had enough of the silence surrounding her. "You girls are going to help us bake some cookies and then we'll have them for desert after dinner. I think we could all do with some cheering up."

"Can we take them to the people in our class at school to cheer them up too?" Alexis asked timidly.

Kate glanced at Rick and it was visible how both their hearts broke just a little at that question.

"Of course honey, that sounds like a brilliant idea. What do you think Alyssa?" Rick turned in his seat to face the girls while he spoke to them.

Alyssa nodded her head and smiled a small smile.

Upon arrival at the apartment, Kate instructed the girls to go get changed into old clothes that were suitable for baking while she and Rick settled. Kate put her gun and badge away and was making a bee-line for her room when Rick stopped her.

"Hey you." he said softly, standing directly in front of her, hands on her waist.

"Hey." Their tones were almost whispered.

"How was your day?" Rick asked, thumbs rubbing circles through her shirt.

"Yeah, good. Just standard stuff. How are you feeling about everything with Meredith?"

"Honestly, I'm so angry with her at the moment. But then with Alexis and Alyssa finishing school with red-rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks, maybe it would be good for Alexis. But I don't want to leave you and Alyssa, and I can't ask you to move with us. I don't know. I… I don't know." Rick rested his head on Kate's shoulder, defeated.

"We'll figure it out, until then, we have some cookies to make."

The girls came back out dressed in more appropriate clothes and Rick released Kate into her room to get changed as well. Meanwhile he and the girls ferreted around the kitchen, pulling out all kinds of ingredients in preparation.

"Okay, so what's on the menu for today?" Kate asked as she emerged in a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt.

"M&M cookies!" Alyssa and Alexis chorused together. It was obvious that the mood around the apartment was starting to lift. Kate came round the counter, skimming a hand across Rick's back as she passed.

The cookies were in the oven and the girls had been sent to wash their dough-covered hands and faces. Rick moved behind Kate, keeping an ear out for the girls approaching. He placed a kiss on her cheek and pulled her into him.

"I think that helped." His head was resting on her shoulder and she could feel the way his chin moved as he spoke the words.

"I just hope it helps tomorrow." Kate replied.

"We'll just have to wait and see I think."

There was a brief silence between then which was momentarily filled by the two girls giggling in the bathroom before Kate spoke again.

"Stay for a bit tonight? Once the girls go to bed I mean."

"Hmmm… I'll have to think about it." Rick said. "Dinner's still included?" he teased.

"I suppose." Kate slipped out of his grip and started to fill the sink up with soapy water to clean the baking dishes.

"I'll dry." Rick offered coming to stand beside her.

**A/N: So university and work and church like to keep me pretty busy but I still managed to pump this out. I'm hoping for at least 1 more if not 2 more chapters before next Friday. Will see how I go. I've really got to go through and reread this whole story to figure out exactly where I'm up to with everything. Anyway…**

**My review count for each chapter is just getting higher and higher and so are my alerts. Thanks to the 212 people who have this story on a alert, it means a lot. I would love to hear from you!**

**This story is brought to you by my amazing reviewers: fanka77, oldmoviewatcher, KB-RC23, TheWrittenRebel, keal, Miniwriter305, JasmineBelle7, mysticgirl101, melindaWRITER, phnxgrl, kotaaa, Docnerd89, NCISchick, VIOLET1213, Gemini96, Si-te-he-visto-no-me-acuerdo, Alex Beckett, Chkgun93, .x3, jasnrob.**

**And also, the all important LadyAilith for her brilliant beta services!  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Saturday 22 September 2001**

It was just after seven when the doorbell rang. Rick mumbled as he rolled out of bed but smiled as he considered who was insane enough to come to the loft at this hour of the morning. It had to be Kate. By the time he opened the door his grin was wide but it quickly fell from his face.

"Meredith?"

"Why didn't you call back Rick?" Meredith asked, accusation clouding her voice as she wafted past him into the loft.

"What… what are you doing here?" Rick followed behind her, stumbling into the kitchen.

"I've come to get Alexis of course." She said it like it was nothing; like it happened every day. She behaved as though she had the right to stroll in and take his daughter away from him with no warning whatsoever. He supposed legally she did, but he damn well wasn't going to sit idly by. "She's in her room?" Meredith was already at the stairs.

"Just… Meredith, come back in here. Wait a sec, come talk to me for a moment. Please." Rick begged, willing himself into alertness.

Meredith let out a frustrated sigh but conceded. "You know, if you'd called me back…" she trailed off.

"How'd you get here Meredith? Planes are still grounded, aren't they?"

"I drove." The red-head answered simply.

"You drove from California to New York?" Rick asked incredulously.

"Well I didn't, my driver did."

Rick nodded. Go figure.

"Okay Meredith, I need you to actually think through what you're trying to do here."

"I have Rick. I thought that surely you of all people would understand. I know I haven't been around much but I love Alexis and I want what's best for her. Don't you want that?"

"I always want what's best for Alexis but I don't think moving her to California is going to be good for her." Rick replied calmly, doing his utmost not to snap at Meredith.

"It's dangerous in New York at the moment Rick. Maybe in a few years we'll come back but I want to keep my daughter safe."

"New York is just as safe as anywhere else." Rick bit out.

"Were you not watching eleven days ago? How is that safe?" Meredith demanded.

"It could've happened anywhere! It happened in Washington too. You can't control what other people do. It could have just as easily have been California." Rick countered.

"But it wasn't. It happened here, in New York."

"But Meredith…" Rick tried to reason but his ex-wife was past the point of reason now.

"No Rick, I'm going up to wake my daughter, help her pack and leave." Meredith affirmed.

"Meredith." Rick called as she started to ascend the stairs. "Meredith, she's not…"

"Shut it Rick!" Meredith snapped as she reached the platform at the top of the staircase.

Rick sighed and bowed his head in resignation.

"Three, two, one…" he murmured. When he reached one Meredith screamed from their daughter's bedroom.

"Rick she's gone. Gone! I told you it wasn't safe here! I told you but you didn't listen and now Alexis is missing! Why aren't you upset, you heartless bastard?" Meredith yelled.

Choosing to ignore the comment about being heartless when it came to his daughter, Rick replied calmly.

"She's not here."

"I can see that! Where is she?" Meredith demanded.

"She's at her friend's place and she's perfectly fine, I assure you."

"You don't know that Rick."

"Meredith, you're being paranoid. Kate's a great person, a fantastic mother, and I trust her. She's a cop." Rick told her.

"So she's what? Hanging with your girlfriend?" Meredith's voice was filled with disgust.

"No, she's hanging with her best friend, Alyssa." Rick replied, deciding to drop the girlfriend comment.

"Alyssa? I though Alexis' best friend was Gracie?"

"Gracie moved to Kansas six months ago. We've been spending a lot of time with Kate and Alyssa over the past few months. The girls are pretty close."

"And you and Kate?" Meredith questioned sceptically.

"We're close too." Rick replied vaguely.

"And when it ends?" Meredith was playing dirty now and they both knew it.

"Who says it will? And if it does, Kate and I love our daughters too much to let it affect them. We've talked it through."

There was silence for a moment before Meredith spoke. When she did it was low and calm and completely unlike her.

"I'm taking her Rick. You can come or you can stay, but I'm taking her with me."

"Well she's not here right now so leave. Just go. I've got some calls to make." Rick said, calm on the surface but seething underneath. He crowded her out the door and slammed it behind her, falling to the floor against the door with his head in his hands.

Kate grinned uncontrollably as she hung up the phone after speaking with her father. After almost four months of medication, rest, and light cardio exercises the doctors had seen a noticeable improvement in his heart's swelling. It was great news and she knew exactly who she wanted to share it with.

She could hear the girls waking up down the hallway as she tugged her phone from her pocket and hit speed dial 3.

"Rick." His voice was deep and gritty as he answered the phone. She really should have known better than to call before 8am, especially when Alexis wasn't around to wake him up.

"Hey, sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Forgot what time it was." Kate said guiltily into the phone, her smile contradicting her words.

"Didn't. What's up?" He sounded distant but she was too excited to really notice.

"Dad called a few minutes ago. He went for tests again yesterday and the swelling of his heart has gone down."

Rick scrubbed a hand down his face and forced a smile to overpower the emotion settling in his gut.

"That's fantastic Kate, really. I'm so happy." He hoped the forced smile would change his tone enough to be passable for happy.

"Yeah, wait, did you say you were already awake?" Kate's brow furrowed. He was never awake at this time of morning unless he was coming over.

"Uh, yeah, I was." He replied simply.

"Oh, why? Where you going to come over? I though you had a phone interview at ten?"

"Yeah, I do. Was going to come over just after."

"Is everything okay Rick?"

"Uh, it will be? Maybe? I don't know. Can we talk about it later?" Rick sighed.

"Sure um… did you want me to bring Alexis back?"

"No!" Rick said, startling Kate with the loudness of his voice. "Sorry, I just mean don't bring her back yet. I'll um, I'll explain later. I didn't mean to yell."

"Oh, that's okay. Well, I guess I'll talk to you later then. I'm here you know? It's not all one way."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks. Bye Kate."

"Bye." And then he was gone.

At one-thirty she received a text from him asking when she started work. Kate replied in kind, hoping more communication would follow but she found herself disappointed and went back to making lunch for the girls. She wasn't working until the next day so she was okay to look after Alexis but she'd hoped she'd see Rick today as well.

He knocked on the door at five, looking even worse for wear than when she'd left him yesterday afternoon. His hair was amuck, with tufts sticking out every which way. He was wearing a suit and tie which was rumpled and out of place for the activities he had supposedly undertaken today, namely phone interviews and emails. His eyes seemed like they were about to close of their own accord and his step as he walked through the door was unsteady. As he went passed her so she could shut the door, she noticed his eyes were bloodshot as well.

Rick kept walking into the apartment at a slow, uneven pace until Kate caught his hand and turned him around to face her.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Rick stared at the ground for a moment and then clenched his jaw several times before looking back up at Kate, fresh tears glistening in his eyes, threatening to fall. Almost imperceptibly he shook his head no. Kate took the two steps necessary to wrap her arms around him and even with the height difference she turned into the soothing mother, rubbing his back and guiding his face into her neck. She began carding his hair with her fingers, hoping to calm him.

"Shhh…" Kate soothed quietly. She still had no idea what was going on but he was in no shape to see his daughter. After a few minutes, Kate pulled back and took his hand, gently guiding him into the confines of her bedroom and locking the door. She pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed and came to a crouch in front of him, her hands resting on his knees, thumbs rubbing soothing circles over his knee cap.

"Rick, talk to me. What's happened?" Kate asked softly.

"I, sorry, just give me a moment and I'll be good to go and take Alexis off your hands." Rick murmured taking a deep breath before and after the statement.

"Uh uh, nope, that's not how this works and you know it. Come on, fess up. What's got you in such a mess?" She was using the tone she usually reserved for when Alyssa was upset about something at school but didn't want to tell her about it. It was light but firm.

Rick exhaled a sigh. "Meredith." he stated, not looking at Kate.

"Meredith called again?" Kate moved one hand up to stroke his cheek, guiding his eyes to hers. Rick chuckled mirthlessly.

"Not exactly. Guess who's in town?" It came out dry and filled with angry sarcasm. Kate had to momentarily remind herself that it wasn't directed at her.

"But I thought she lived in California? Aren't all planes still grounded?"

"Yup, but cars aren't."

It was Kate's turn to sigh. "What happened?"

Clenching his jaw again Rick replied. "She came by at seven this morning. Waltzed right in when I opened the door, demanding Alexis, fully prepared to walk up the stairs and just take her. Just take her away Kate."

"Rick…" Kate tried to console him.

"Then, when she realized she wasn't there and I told her she was at a friend's… I've been with custodial lawyers all day. You know what they said? I don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to getting full custody. She's Meredith's daughter too and Meredith's never done anything to make her an unsuitable parent, at least not on record anyway. Meredith loves Alexis but… I think Meredith would have trouble looking after a dog, let alone a child, hers or otherwise." There were angry tears traitorously running down Rick's cheeks now.

Kate rose up from the floor and nudged Rick's clenched fist so she could sit on his thigh. Rick stiffly straightened his fingers out and brought them to rest on Kate's hip. Kate brought her hand behind his head again, pulling him in so that their foreheads rested together.

"Hey, you'll get through this. You and Alexis both. Do I need to take Meredith in for interrogation or anything, scare her a bit?" Kate joked lightly and elicited a chuckle from Rick. "You know I could just arrest her, take her down to lock-up and hold her for twenty-four hours."

"On what charges?" Rick whispered.

"Threatening to break apart a family, my family, and making my boyfriend cry." Kate giggled and Rick grunted his disapproval.

"Not crying." He muttered.

"Of course not. It's just something in your eye, right?" Kate mocked again.

"Shut up." Rick was trying to tamp down the smile threatening to break through.

"Or maybe it's just been raining on your face." Kate was laughing now and it wasn't long before Rick joined her, wrapping both arms around her to hug her to him tightly.

"Thank you." Rick managed to choke out once he stopped laughing.

"Welcome." Kate smiled at him before leaning in to place a gently kiss on his lips. "So, where to from here?" Kate asked, getting back on topic.

"Meeting with Meredith and the lawyers and then if she doesn't change her mind, the courts."

"Well then, we'll deal with those steps when we get to them alright? Ready to go see your daughter?" Kate knew this was probably going to be a long, hard battle, but as a single parent she knew you do what you have to for your kid.

"Yeah." Rick's mouth tugged into a small smile as he stood, Kate having just removed herself from his lap.

He grabbed her by the waist as she opened the door to the bedroom. He spun her round and placed a firm kiss to her mouth. Both smiled as they pulled back and walked out hand in hand.

The clock on the wall read eight o'clock and the chatter in Alyssa's room was finally non-existent. Kate and Rick were cuddled up on the couch as the credits rolled from the movie they had just finished watching.

"So, tomorrow…" Rick started, hoping Kate would simply finish the sentence for him, tell him what to do.

"Tomorrow?" No such luck.

"I was thinking I may take the girls out, save them from hurricane Meredith in case she decides to pass through again."

"You think she will?"

"Yeah, but its okay." Rick commented quickly, hoping Kate wouldn't be concerned for Alyssa's safety while she was with him. "We'll figure it out. I promise I won't put Alyssa in the middle of anything."

Kate immediately realized that he'd interpreted her concern the wrong way.

"No, don't worry Rick, it's not that. Never that. I trust you." She grabbed his hand between both of hers. "I was just thinking maybe you could stay here at my apartment for the day. Longer if you need to. Meredith doesn't know where I live. How about you head home tonight and grab a few things and come back at the usual time in the morning. I'll get an extra key for you after work and then, you know whatever you need…" Kate trailed off, suddenly a bit nervous.

"I can get a hotel or something." Rick read the nerves as doubt and gave her an out.

"Rick." Kate's tone was one of scolding and disapproval.

"It would really be okay if we stayed here for while?"

"On one condition." Kate said, smirking evilly now, "You get to cook dinner when I have to stay back at work."

"I do that anyway."Rick chuckled.

"True, but this way I get to keep the leftovers."

Rick laughed again. "I should go home and get some stuff for Alexis. And me. What time tomorrow?" Rick asked, still showing no sign of moving off the couch.

"Mmm." Kate snuggled into his side a bit more. "You really should go."

Rick groaned as he untangled himself and stood up.

"No! Come back! You're warm." Kate complained.

"Oh, I see how it is. Just want me for my heating abilities."

"Well that, and your daughter." Kate retorted. Rick feigned hurt before relaxing his features again and extending his hands to help her up.

"So what time do you start tomorrow?"

"Eight, but if you swing by at six-thirty there'll be breakfast."

"Hmm that's early."

"It is, but I'll make it worth your while." Kate promised.

"Will you just?"

"Mmmhmm, there'll even be waffles." She leaned up to kiss him. "Now go so you can come back."

"Okay, and Kate…"

"If you thank me for this I may have to slap you."

Rick grinned but then his face turned serious.

"Kate, I love you."

"I, Rick, I…" Kate stumbled over her words at his latest confession.

"I know it's early in the relationship but I'm in this for keeps Kate. You know that right?"

"I, yeah, I know. I am too." Kate replied, feeling dumb.

Rick intertwined their fingers.

"You don't have to say it if you're not ready. It's okay, I just thought…"

Kate smiled and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Kate said, walking them towards the door, still wrapped in each others embrace.

Rick kissed her cheek, then her nose, and finally her lips. He untangled himself and put a hand on the door knob.

"Tomorrow, bright and early."

Kate nodded and let him go. Rick opened the door and stepped out. Kate stood in the door way and watched as Rick got onto the elevator. Suddenly she felt something welling up inside her chest and she couldn't keep it in. Just as the metal doors were closing, she called out.

"Rick! I love you too!"

The elevator doors closed and Kate smiled, closing and locking her front door, feeling as though she was floating. Hearing her phone ding from the next room she went in search of it.

'Glad to hear it. :D' the message read. Without replying, Kate walked into her room and prepared for bed.

Rick walked into the lobby of his building still on cloud nine. As he caught the elevator to his floor he whistled a tune unknown to him. He was so caught up in the feelings of bliss that came with requited love that he almost tripped over the person on his doorstep.

"Meredith." She was sitting on the floor, legs outstretched in her designer clothing that would have cost a few thousand dollars.

"God Rick! Where have you been? I've been waiting for hours! I've been sitting on the floor!" She was outraged. "And where's Alexis?"

"Sleep over." Rick said simply, pushing her out of his doorway. As he stepped over the threshold he blocked Meredith's way in and started to close the door.

Just before the latch clicked into place he heard Meredith's proclamation.

"I'm suing you for full custody!"

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I was on prac for four weeks for uni. It was hectic but fun. **

**This chapter was intense to write... I hope it comes across intense to read :P My Beta brought some things to my attention and I just want to clear them up here before continuing. I did a bit of research (and by a bit I mean I went to the site I always go to for my info on Alexis) and it says that Rick and Meredith both agreed that Alexis was better off with Rick. It makes no mention of whether or not he has any legal custody.  
>Hopefully any other questions you have will unfold within the next chapters. I still have a bit of research to do on custody battles seeing as I have no first hand experience.<br>**

**The next chapter is already in the works but I don't know when it will be finished. Sorry.  
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**Thanks to my awesome beta, LadyAilith, who not only edits my work but also gives me things to think about when it comes to the progression of this story.  
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**Thanks also to the 239 people reading this fic regularly! That feels so great as an author to know you have such a big audience.  
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**Special thanks to my amazing reviewers from last chapter too: Rhyolight04, merder96, jasnrob, firefaerie15, KeepCalmBandBAreHavingABaby, gg123, Docnerd89, JasmineBelle7, mysticgirl101, twinzy, SyaRaven, TrishCastle, Alex Beckett, fanka77, Gemini96, Danzjaron, phnxgrl, KB-RC23, TheWrittenRebel, Miniwriter305, Chkgun93, and NCISchick. You guys are awesome! I love hearing from you.  
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**If you have any experience in custodial battles, either from a child's or an adult's perspective, and you're willing to share some insight, feel free to PM me.  
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**Sacha  
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**P.S. HOW AMAZING WAS ALWAYS?  
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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Saturday 22 - Sunday 23 September 2001**

Rick climbed the stairs to Alexis' room, desperate to take his mind off the latest blow his ex-wife had inflicted. Almost robotically, Rick started pulling open his daughter's drawers and throwing half the contents from each into the rolling suitcase he'd pulled from the hall cupboard on his way in.  
>He ended up with a suitcase overflowing with clothes and it showed no signs of being able to be zipped. Sighing, he started pulling out clothes and folding them neatly in piles on the bed. Once things were folded neatly, he began to repack the suitcase. Just before he closed the lid he spied Monkey Bunkey sitting against the pillows at the head of the bed. Smiling, Rick picked up the stuffed toy and placed it gently on top of the suitcase. His smile faded quickly though, as he once again thought of Meredith and her threat that he was certain was more than a threat. And just like that his world came crashing down around him for the third time that day.<p>

* * *

><p>Rick arrived at the apartment at five-thirty the next morning. Sleep had come to him in fits and starts that were filled with images of an empty loft with a spare room that belonged to someone who would never visit again.<br>True to fashion, Kate was already awake and alert when he quietly tapped on the door.  
>"Did you sleep at all last night?" Kate asked in place of a more traditional greeting, opening the door wide to allow him inside the apartment.<br>"Some." Rick replied as he crossed the threshold. Dropping the bags in the entry way he stumbled past Kate to the couch where he plopped down with very little grace.  
>"Rick..." Kate chastised. "Do I need to call Dad to take the girls today?"<br>Rick shook his head but then thought better of it when the movement caused a marching band to begin storming through his head.  
>"No, I'm fine. Don't take Alexis away. Please." He was literally begging her, so sleep deprived that he couldn't see straight.<br>"Okay, it's okay Rick." She sat down on the couch beside him and pulled him down so his head rested in her lap. She started stroking a hand through his already mussed hair to soothe him. "Okay Rick, sleep. You've got a bit of time before the girls get up. Sleep."  
>Rick closed his eyes and after a few minutes Kate felt his breathing even out as he succumbed to sleep. When she was certain he wouldn't wake, Kate gently extracted herself from the couch and placed a plump cushion under his head, allowing her to continue getting ready.<p>

* * *

><p>"Be gentle hun, your daddy didn't get a lot of sleep last night. He's really tired." Kate's quiet voice reached his ears just as a little hand shook his shoulder.<br>"Daddy?" Rick opened his eyes and found his daughter's face level with his.  
>"Hey Munchkin, did you have a good sleep?" Rick questioned as he reached up to run a finger over his daughter's rosy cheek.<br>"Yeah, Kate said you're tired." Concern laced her young voice.  
>"A little bit, but I'm okay. Between you and Alyssa I'm sure I can suck up all the energy I need." Rick lifted Alexis on top of him and suddenly started tickling her.<br>At Alexis' shrieks Alyssa came running over to see what was going on. She then proceeded to jump atop Rick also and was greeted by him with a winded grunt. Kate emerged from the kitchen where she had had been plating up breakfast and grinned before shooing the girls off her boyfriend.  
>"Okay ladies, breakfast is served. Let the gentleman of the house up. He's a bit outnumbered.<br>The girls scampered to their feet and headed for the kitchen.  
>"Gentleman of the house?" Rick questioned as Kate extended her arms to help him up.<br>"Well, you're the only male here and "male of the house" doesn't have the same ring to it." Kate replied with a shrug.  
>"Good morning again." Rick stood and placed a chaste kiss to Kate's lips. "Did I hear you say something about breakfast." As if to prove his point, his stomach growled.<br>Kate laughed and dragged him into the kitchen with intertwined hands.

* * *

><p>Rick was stealing food from everyone's plate. He was going for his third mouthful of Kate's eggs when she slapped his hand.<p>

"Eat your own food Rick." Her voice was filled motherly chastisement.  
>"But yours tastes better." Rick pouted, tossing a quick wink to the two girls across the table. Both giggled as they watched their respective parents bicker lightheartedly.<br>"Eat your breakfast Rick." Kate smiled at him ruefully with a roll of her eyes.  
>Ten minutes later Kate was finished with her breakfast. She stood and headed for the kitchen. Rick gently grabbed her around the wrist.<br>"You heading in now?" he inquired.  
>"Yeah, you'll do the dishes?"<br>"Sure." he smiled. "These two can dry and put away." His suggestion was met with matching groans from the young girls. Rick took Kate's plate from her other hand and put it next to his on the table.  
>"Okay ladies, time to say goodbye." Rick told Alexis and Alyssa, watching as they both rose from their seat to bid goodbye to Kate.<br>As they approached her she knelt down to be eye level with both of them, hugging them tightly and whispering well wishes in their ears.  
>Rick helped Kate up from her squatting position on the floor and pulled her into his arms, placing a soft kiss on her lips. It wasn't intended to go anywhere and it was probably the most physical thing the couple had done in front of their daughters.<br>"See you tonight." Rick placed a teasing kiss on the end of her nose.  
>"Yeah, I suppose so." Kate paused to run a gently hand over his stubbled cheek. "You sure you'll be okay today? You look like a zombie." She spoke with concern.<br>"I feel like one. Don't worry about it though. If worst comes to worst I'll sit the girls down with a movie and take a nap on the couch." He promised her.  
>"You can use my bed you know." Kate said with a roll of her eyes.<br>"We'll see. You need to be on your way now though."  
>"I'll text you to see how you're going okay?" Rick nodded at her. Kate rose up on her toes for a moment, balancing herself with a hand on both of Rick's shoulders. She brought her lips to his ear. "Hey, I love you." She smiled as she spoke and Rick could feel the grin against the shell of his ear. His smile beamed.<br>"Hey," he said, stepping back for a moment. "I love you back." He sealed his words with a gentle kiss and then turned her around in the direction of the door. "Off you go now," he urged jokingly, giving her a gentle shove.  
>"Okay, I'm going, I'm going. Bye!" she called as Rick gave her one final shove into the hall.<p>

* * *

><p>It was almost lunch time. Rick, Alexis, and Alyssa had been making play-dough figures and acting out stories for them for the past two hours. They were just packing up when Alexis turned to her father.<p>

"Will Alyssa and Kate be living with us soon?" The question took Rick aback but it really shouldn't have surprised him. He'd packed a bags for both of them and they were staying here at least a few more days. Add that to the fact that both girls had witnessed them kissing earlier that morning, which was completely his doing.  
>"I don't know sweetheart." It was the truth but he hoped his daughter could accept it.<br>"Okay." The girl smiled shrugging it off.  
>Rick sent the girls off to wash their hands and get ready for lunch, the previous conversation seemingly inconsequential to them.<p>

* * *

><p>Kate had been trying to get a hold of Rick for the past hour or so. She'd called and he hadn't answered. She'd texted and he hadn't replied. She was starting to get a touch worried. She'd even tried the home phone but had gotten no answer. Buying the cordless phone was a big mistake. It was probably under a cushion somewhere with no battery in it.<br>She was in the lobby of her building when she tried one last time to call him and once again she got his voice mail. She was concerned. Skipping the elevator ride, Kate took the stairs two at a time and was slightly out of breath when she reached her door on the 8th floor. She unlocked the door and threw it open, possible worst case scenarios reeling through her head, but the sight that greeted her alleviated all her concerns.  
>The two girls were sitting in front of the television, watching Hercules.<br>"Hi girls, where's Rick?" she asked. She found it odd that he hadn't appeared when the door opened, or at least said something.  
>"Asleep," the girls answered in unison, eyes still riveted to the movie.<br>Kate walked through the house and into her room. Sure enough, Rick was passed out on the bed, on top of the covers with his face mashed into a pillow. She could see his phone flashing on the bedside table, trying to alert him to all the calls and messages he had seemingly slept through.  
>Kate sat down next to Rick's hip and glanced at his phone again. 37 missed calls. She'd only called him five times at the most. She sighed. That many missed calls in one afternoon didn't bode well. Lifting a hand she ran her fingers through his soft hair earning a mumbled grunt for her efforts. Smiling she did it again, this time bringing her fingers farther down to run over the contours of his face. He scrunched up his nose and batted at her roaming hand with one of his own. She suppressed a giggle and bent over to whisper in his ear.<br>"Rick, gotta get up now. You're helping me make dinner tonight."  
>Another mumbled phrase dropped from his lips before his eyes fluttered open.<br>"Kate? What time is it?" his eyes moved to meet hers.  
>"Almost six, sleeping beauty." Kate replied with a teasing smile.<br>"Oh crap!" Rick exclaimed, bolting upright. "Are the girls okay?" Concern etched his features.  
>"The girls are fine. They're watching Hercules. How long have you been out?"<br>"Since about 3ish I think."  
>"Well you've got people trying to contact you. 37 missed calls?" Kate mentioned, gesturing to the phone. Just then the phone started vibrating again. Kate picked it up and passed it to him. Hastily he pressed 'end call' and turned off the offensive device.<br>"Rick, what's going on? Who's calling you?"  
>"Uh, let's see-lawyers, publicist, agent, ex-wife. All people I don't particularly want to talk to." Rick shrugged, still laying in bed.<br>"You'll have to talk to them eventually, Rick." Kate pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged and facing him.  
>"But not today. Tomorrow, when the girls are at school and you're at work. I spoke to Paula briefly today. She called to say that the book launch party has been rescheduled for October 18th. Then she started asking about you and about Meredith and who was coming with me to the release. I hung up." Rick pushed himself up in the bed so that he and Kate were now both sitting opposite each other. "How was your day?" He changed the subject.<br>"Same old, same old. Had an open and shut case and then did paper work the rest of the day. So, what are you making for dinner?" Kate reverted back.  
>"Don't you mean 'What are we making for dinner?' You said I was helping. What's on the menu Miss Beckett?"<br>"You should know better Mr. Castle, when I say we, I really mean you." Kate said laughing as Rick reached out to pull her into him. All he succeeded in doing was putting her off balance. Once she had righted herself again, Rick pulled her in more gently and pressed his lips to hers.  
>"You're going to make it through this, you know." Kate whispered, forehead leaning against Rick's when they pulled back.<br>"We're going to make it through this." Rick asserted. He moved and stood up, pulling Kate up with him.  
>"Let's go see what you've got to eat."<p>

* * *

><p>The girls were in Alyssa's room, supposedly sleeping but they were nowhere near tired.<br>"Lexis, do you think, if we move in together, we'll be sisters?" Alyssa asked.  
>"I'm not sure. I think that's how it works. Wouldn't that be awesome? We could be sisters and go to the same school and spend every day together." Alexis said with excitement, getting out of her makeshift bed and crawling into the single bed with Alyssa.<br>"Yeah and then we can both have a mommy and a daddy."  
>"Yes! Except I have a mommy already. Can you have two mommies?" Alexis asked.<br>"Ummm, I think so. There's a girl at my school who has two mommies."  
>"Cool! And when we're sisters we can go to summer camps together and be like the twins in the Parent Trap! We can make up a cool handshake and everything!" Alexis exclaimed.<br>"But today your daddy said that he doesn't know if we're going to move in together." Alyssa's voiced resonated with disappointment.  
>"Well, we'll just have to make them. Maybe you could start calling my daddy 'Daddy.'" Alexis suggested.<br>"Yeah, and you call my mommy 'Mommy.'" Alyssa agreed, "Then we'll almost be sisters. Sisters have the same mommy and daddy and live together. We'll be half way there!"  
>"Exactly. Once they're a mommy-daddy pair they'll have to move in together." Alexis said as she snuggled under the covers next to Alyssa. "Good night sis."<br>"Good night sis." Alyssa replied in kind, both girls giggling a little before dropping off to sleep.

**A/N: So it's been a while and this a shorter chapter than normal. I've been a bit all over the place lately. A lot of stuff happened with my family and this chapter got put on the backburner. **

**I've also been working on a short companion piece to go with this story about Kate's journey finding out about Alyssa. I started it to deal with other family stuff and it was very therputic. Sorry for the wait. Hopefully it won't be too long til the next chapter but atm it's a bit of wait and see. **

**Anyway, as always, thanks to LadyAilith for her amazing beta-ing powers and also to my constant reviewers and all the new readers I get. Special thanks to those who reviewed last chapter (all that time ago): JasmineBelle7, TheWrittenRebel, iheartcastle, FranTheBartender, mysticgirl10, melindaWRITER, jasnrob, VIOLET1213, wellwritten, Nat84, Onelife30, Sof, phnxgrl, Miniwriter305, KB-RC23, Alex Beckett, Christine Spencer, Docnerd89, NCISchick, and fanka77. Your reviews always make my day (and if I'm stupid and don't turn my phone on silent after posting a chapter before bed, my night also).**

**Hopefully post more soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Monday 24 September 2001**

Rick stepped off the elevator and into his attorney's office. The place was buzzing, people were milling around, determination etched on their faces and purpose to their walk. Rick put it down to the 9-11 clean up, although he supposed that this office was just always that busy. After seeing the receptionist he took a seat as instructed but was surprised and somewhat horrified when his agent entered and made a beeline for him.

"Paula?"

"When were you going to tell me about this Rick?" Paula asked accusingly, her jet black hair pulled back into a bun.

"Tell you about what? Meredith? I wasn't aware that it was any of your business." Rick retorted.

"It surely is my business. I'm your agent therefore anything to do with you is my business. We've got to figure out what angle to give the media on this." Paula sat down in the chair across from him.

"I know what angle the media is going to get. None. I've told you before but apparently I need to say it again, my family, my daughter, stay out of the press."

"I don't know if that's possible." Paula was starting to back off. She knew the deal.

"You're going to make it possible. Excuse me." Rick said, standing up as he was waved into a board room.

"We've reviewed your case Mr. Castle and, as we said earlier, full custody is unlikely. Despite the fact that Miss Castle has a history with you, her mother is still her mother. She never signed custodial documents to give you full custody. Now I'm not saying that your ex-wife is going to get full custody either. At the moment it looks like shared custody is the way to go." Rick's attorney explained as Rick sat across from him and two other partners in the expensive law-firm board room.

"Partial custody…" Rick let the thought roll around in his head for a moment. "I don't want Alexis traveling from one side of the country to the other twice a year. She likes her school, she likes her friends. I especially don't want her going to two schools," he objected.

"That's not always the way partial custody works. It works for some families but not for others. In your case we'll present a few options to Ms Emard and see if she'll take them." the silver-haired gentleman replied.

"So, what kind of arrangements are we looking at here?"

"Well, the types of partial custodial options we usually offer in this situation include having both parents within the same state so that the child can easily go from one to the other with as little disruption to their routine as possible. If Ms. Emard was to move to New York, Miss Castle could still attend Marlowe Prep and we could either suggest a two week or a month turn-around on the visits. Then there's always the holiday arrangement where you will get custody of Miss Castle through the school term but any vacations that last longer than a week, Ms. Emard has custody."

"I don't like either." Rick replied stubbornly."

"Well, I'm afraid Mr. Castle, you're going to have to choose which one you'd prefer us to pursue."

"Can I get back to you?" Rick asked tiredly, rubbing a hand down his face.

"By tomorrow," replied his attorney. Rick nodded just as his phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

* * *

><p>It was recess and Alexis was swinging off the monkey-bars in her usual fashion, talking to her friend who was swinging back and forth opposite her. The blonde girl was telling Alexis about how her bedroom was being renovated for her eighth birthday.<p>

"So, at the moment my sister and I are sharing a room. It's like a sleep over every night." Tiara finished telling Alexis excitedly.

"I know what you mean! My sister and I are sharing a room at the moment too. I don't know how long for though. Dad said that it would be for a little while though." Alexis replied.

"You don't have a sister though," the young girl countered.

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't!" Tiara yelled, sure that she was right. She'd been in the same class as Alexis since preschool.

"Yes I do!" Alexis yelled back passionately. "Her name is Alyssa; she's eight years old, just like me."

"Then why doesn't she go to school here?" Tiara countered smugly, dropping from the bars onto the ground. Alexis followed suit.

"Because she likes her school."

"Is she your imaginary sister?" Tiara asked, voice filled with pre-teen attitude.

"No, she's real!" Alexis exclaimed before turning to the teacher on duty. "Miss, Tiara says my sister isn't real!" By this point Alexis was getting quite upset, fairly close to tears.

"Alexis, sweetie, you don't have a sister though. I'm sure I would have heard about it," the teacher replied.

Alexis' anger grew and her face turned red as she yelled at the teacher.

"I do have a sister! Her name is Alyssa! She's eight years old, just like me! She's real!" Alexis screamed.

Taken aback by this behavior from a girl that was usually considered sweet, the young teacher quickly shook off her shock. "Alexis Castle. Go sit in the office for the rest of recess. I'll come and talk to you after," she said sternly.

"But I…" Alexis tried to counter.

"Go Miss Castle." The teacher emphasized her position with a finger pointed in the direction of the school's main office.

Richard Castle entered the school administration in a rush. The only time he'd ever been called to the school was when that kid had broken Alexis' arm in second grade. He prayed that she wasn't hurt as he busted through the door and spotted her on a seat outside the principal's office. Her head was down and she looked upset but she didn't look injured.

"Alexis, what's happened?"

Before the girl had a chance to answer, the principal stepped out of the office to talk to Rick.

"Ah, Mr. Castle, thank you for coming down."

"Sure, what happened?"

"Would you like to step into my office?" The principal didn't ask so much as tell.

"Ah," Rick glanced at Alexis, who still hadn't looked up at him.

"She'll be fine there for now Mr. Castle. Come in here and let me explain what's going on."

"Ah, sure. Okay." Rick followed the man into his office, even more worried for his daughter now than he had been twenty minutes ago.

* * *

><p>Alyssa sat in the corner of the playground doing her best to ignore the young boy who had just pushed her over. It was getting increasingly hard however, since he kept coming over to her.<p>

"Aly-shelly-helly-deli!" he sing-songed in her face before running away again and giggling with the other boys.

"My name's Alyssa," she mumbled to herself.

"Hey Aly-smelly. Is it true you have imaginary friends?"

"NO!" Alyssa replied vehemently.

"I don't believe you!" And the boy was off again.

Alyssa was stuck somewhere between punching the kid and crying. She was trying her best to ignore him and push the anger and hurt down but it wasn't working.

The next thing she knew three boys were running in circles around her.

"Go away," she mumbled, barely loud enough for them to hear.

"What was that Deli?"

"Stop it! I don't like it!" Alyssa asserted, using the words that every teacher had told her to when facing bullies.

"Stop it! I don't like it!" Two of the boys mimicked in unison.

"No really! Leave me alone!" Alyssa stood up, hoping she could scare them away.

"Leave me alone!" They sing-songed and laughed.

"Go AWAY!" Alyssa all but yelled.

"Make us!" the third boy, the initiator, said.

"I will!" Alyssa threatened.

"What are you going to do Deli? Tell on us?"

"Maybe!" Alyssa wavered.

"Oh Deli, no! Please don't tell on us! No Deli! No!" the boys mocked.

Alyssa stood up taller, puffing out her chest and trying to look tough. She made to walk past them but two of the boys blocked her path.

"Get out of my way." Alyssa said as calmly as she could.

"Make us!" one of the boys said as another came round behind her to pull her hair.

"Don't touch me!" Alyssa growled at him.

"Whatcha gonna do about it Deli?"

Alyssa spun around and before the boy knew what was going on, Alyssa's fist had connected with his nose. Blood was pouring out as he looked at her in shock.

"I'm telling!" the boy whined as he ran to the nearest teacher, tears in his eyes as he held a hand over his gushing nose.

"I'm sorry!" Alyssa tried to apologize but it was too late. She sat down and pouted as the teacher came over to see her.

* * *

><p>Kate ran her hands over her face in frustration. Today had been horrible so far and she still had another five hours on the clock. She tried to shake it off and get back to work but it wasn't that simple. It seemed to have been dead end after dead end today and it wasn't letting up. Every time the team felt like it was getting anywhere something else would come up and push them two steps backwards. Then the lead detective had gotten a call from the Captain who had been out of the Precinct all day. Apparently the victim's family had been good friends with the ADA who was now squeezing the Captain for a lead, one which he did not have. The Captain was now squeezing the lead detective for a lead. The lead detective was squeezing his team, and Kate, the low man on the totem pole, felt like she was wrapped up by a python which was slowly squeezing everything out of her. Currently she had been assigned surveillance. She was sitting in the media room watching blurry black and white footage of an alley way across the road from where the victim was killed. She was looking for anything. Any trace of the victim, suspicious behavior, anything she could give to her superiors would be a god-send. Unfortunately time of death was iffy due to the fact the body had been dumped near an air conditioner vent which was periodically blowing hot and cold air onto the decomposing body. The ME had only been able to narrow it down to an eight hour time frame. Since the new rookie, Detective Ryan, had the day off, Kate was charged with watching the tapes.<p>

Just then her phone rang. She grabbed at it like a life line, praying it was the head detective telling her that something in the case had broken, that she could stop watching these stupid tapes. She didn't even look at the caller ID before answering.

"Detective Beckett."

"Ah, yes, Kate Beckett?" an unfamiliar voice rang through.

"Yes." Kate answered, slightly unsure.

"This is Georgia Sanders, the principal at your daughter's school. I have Alyssa in here with me and I was hoping that you could come down for a chat."

"Is everything okay? She's not hurt is she?" Kate asked, slightly panicked.

"She's absolutely fine physically but there has been an incident and I'd really like to talk to you about it. Are you able to come down?" Georgia asked politely.

"Ah sorry Mrs. Sanders, as you may be aware I'm a police detective and we're in the middle of the case so unless it's dire…" Kate tried to edge out of it.

"I'm sorry Miss Beckett but it is quite a serious matter. Alyssa will need to be taken home as soon as possible," the principal insisted.

"Ah, can I send someone else in?" Kate asked.

"Who are you proposing? I was under the assumption you were a single parent."

"I am, sort of… I just, could my Dad or my partner come instead?"

"Well, I suppose but I would really like to talk to you personally."

"Look, I understand but I'm really busy right now. Can I send someone else in to pick Alyssa and we can arrange a meeting for later in the week?" Kate pushed right back.

"I suppose. I'll send a letter home with her, but as I said, I do need to speak with you," Georgia replied.

"Okay, let me make some calls. Someone will be there to pick her up in the next hour." Kate assured the woman before saying goodbye to her and hanging up.

Kate tried her father first but had no luck. He had said that with the good news about his health coming in he might go on a fishing trip and be unreachable for a few days.

Kate's next port of call was Rick. He answered after the fifth ring.

"Hey Kate, what's up? I'm a bit busy right now." Rick greeted softly.

"So am I. Is there anyway that you can get away from what you're doing and pick Alyssa up from school. Something's happened."

"Sorry, I really wish I could but I'm at Alexis' school. There's been an incident here too. I can't get away right now. I'll tell you all about it tonight though," Rick told her quickly and quietly.

"Crap," Kate murmured. "Ah, it's okay. She's my kid. I've got it. Talk tonight."

"Talk tonight," Rick affirmed before they both hung up.

Kate put her phone in her bag and made her way to the lead detective, practicing how to tell him she was leaving in her head.

* * *

><p>That night, after both girls had been dealt out punishments for their actions and dinner had been eaten, the four of them collapsed in front of a Disney movie. The couch had been abandoned about half an hour in when Rick had stood up to get some ice cream. The ice cream had then been demolished and the make-shift family had snuggled down on the floor in a pile of limbs and torsos. Rick was leaning back against the couch, Kate was to his left, her head resting on his shoulder. Alyssa had started in Kate's lap but had somehow moved over and was now falling asleep atop Rick and Alexis was sprawled over Kate's legs, half asleep herself.<p>

By the time the credits rolled both girls had fallen fast asleep. Rick lifted Alyssa to the couch and then turned to help Kate out from under Alexis. To his surprise though, she already had a firm hold on the sleeping child and was standing up without a problem. Rick smiled and turned back to pick up Alyssa before following Kate into the girls' bedroom.

As Rick placed Alyssa down on the bed she stirred slightly. Rick quieted her with a hand through her hair and a gentle goodnight in her ear.

"Goodnight Dad."

"Night Alexis." Rick replied but Kate looked up at him and shook her head, eyes wide. It was then that Rick realized that it was Alyssa that had wished him a goodnight. Slightly taken aback, he shook it off and swapped places with Kate, kissing his own daughter goodnight before walking out of the room and turning off the television in the living room. A few short minutes later Rick met Kate in the bedroom and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Did I tell you why Alexis yelled at her teacher?" Rick asked Kate. They'd exchanged brief details as they cooked and the girls sat at separate ends of the apartment thinking about an appropriate punishment for their actions, which was a punishment in itself.

"No, you didn't."

"One of her friends told her that she didn't have a sister. Then the teacher tried to tell her and she lost it. The principal thinks that I should get her into counseling."

"Oh, wow. That's… intense." Kate replied.

"I don't think it's that big a deal. I mean they spend so much time together. I think that perhaps Alexis just loves Alyssa so much that she gets a bit intense about it. She knows they're not really sisters."

"I think it's getting more serious than that Rick," Kate said. "I mean, tonight Alyssa called you Dad. She's never had anyone in her life to call Dad before so it's a pretty big deal, to me and to her."

"I…I… yeah, you're right. What do we do? Do we cut down how much time we spend together?" Rick asked, cautiously.

"No, I don't want to do that. I think maybe we just need to tell the girls where we're at. I mean, we're not ready for that. We haven't even had sex yet."

"We can fix that you know." Rick said with dancing eyebrows. Kate chuckled and hit his chest.

"Not the point. I just… are you okay with Alyssa calling you Dad? Because if you're not I need to tell her tomorrow," Kate said seriously.

"I… it doesn't phase me, Kate. I said it before and I'll say it again. I love you and I'm in this for keeps. Don't be surprised if by this time next year you have a ring on your finger." Rick said it so casually that Kate was slightly surprised. "Is that okay with you?" he asked.

"I… ah, yeah. I… yeah, that's okay." Kate replied smiling.

"As long as you don't mind Alyssa calling me Dad I'm okay with it. I promise to do my best to never break her heart. Just like I will do my best not to break yours," he vowed.

"What about Alexis?" Kate questioned.

"Are you okay if she starts calling you Mom? Because if Alyssa is calling me Dad, that won't be far off."

"Yeah, I'm okay with that as long as you are," Kate replied. "But Alexis has a mom already."

"Not really, but I see your point. How about this, tomorrow morning I talk with Alexis to make sure we're on the same page, family wise. You can talk to Alyssa too and we see how we go from there.

"Okay," Kate agreed.

"For now though, I think that it's been a long day," Kate nodded her agreement to Rick's statement.

Rick smiled as he leaned in for a kiss. "Go get ready for bed." He smiled at her. "Race you!" He flashed her a grin and ran for the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Sex would come, marriage would come, and custody papers would come. Eventually. For now, they needed to take it one day at a time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well Hi all! It's been a while, I know. Between family issues and university and the fact that I was dreading writing this chapter, this story kind of got left by the wayside. Today though (or yesterday really) I had finished all bar two of my assignments, had had a job interview, and thought over this as I went for a swim and completely changed everything I was planning to write. I hope you liked it. **

**You should have a new chapter by the end of November at the very latest and then from November 30 on I should be back to regular updates. The story is due to be completed in February. Do you think you guys can hang in with me til then? I hope so. **

**I will be participating in NaNoWriMo again this year but any energies that I don't put into my novel will go in here. **

**Wish me luck with my assignments because if I finish those by next Saturday I'll be able to write a new chapter next Tuesday/Wednesday for y'all.**

**Anyway, as always, thanks to LadyAilith for the beta-ing and the quick turn around. I've never had a better beta :)**

**And to all my lovely reviewers, I hope you will continue to review!**

**Special thanks to last chapters reviewers: NCISchick, phnxgrl, nahbois68, KB-RC23, mysticgirl101, Miniwriter305, Audrey 1986, melindaWRITER, Nat84, fanka77, Alex Beckett, VIOLET1213, Guest, IndeedaCaskett, OnLife30, and Docnerd89. **

**I've had some new followers to this story and to them I say 'Welcome and thanks for reading!' I would love to hear from all 289 of you though! Even just one word!**

**You guys are awesome. See you next time!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Friday 26 October 2001**

This was not going to happen. Sure, she hadn't been the most present mother but that didn't give that woman the right to swoop in and steal her daughter. Rick hadn't even had the decency to tell her he was dating anyone, let alone was in a serious relationship. She'd had to find out via one of his fansites, which she'd never admit to subscribing to.

Her attorneys had told her that she was never going to get full custody. Her absence over the past five years had effectively destroyed the chances of that. She was still hoping to get Alexis and her father to move back to California with her. If Rick agreed then it was a sure thing that they'd split custody 50-50. If not she had little chance. Given Alexis' age and how well adjusted she seemed to be her lawyers had told her that the court would rule in Rick's favor without batting and eyelid. If worse came to worst she'd move to New York, if only for a few years. Perhaps, when Alexis was a little older she could do six months in California and six months in New York. This was just a small hurdle really. Meredith would get what she wanted eventually, she always did.

* * *

><p>"Which one says 'competent father' better?" Rick asked Kate, holding up a navy blue and a deep purple shirt. Kate smother a laugh.<p>

"Don't be such a girl." She teased before turning serious. She approached him and laid a palm on his chest. "Hey, you're a great dad." She affirmed, forcing him to look her in the eye. "It doesn't matter what you wear, your actions will speak for themselves. Meredith's too. Alexis won't be taken from you. Stop worrying."

"I hope you're right." Rick murmured.

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right." The statement made Rick laugh.

"So which one?" He asked again, gesturing to the shirts.

Instead of answering Kate took both shirts from him, placed the blue one on the bed and removed the purple one from the hanger. Obediently Rick stuck out arms as Kate draped the shirt over him before coming back to his front to do the buttons up. When the last button was in its hole she gripped his collar and pulled him down so their faces were level.

"I love you Rick. You're the best father either of those girls could ask for." She pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth before pulling away just enough to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly.

* * *

><p><strong>Saturday 15 December 2001<strong>

"I'll get it!" Alyssa called back to her mother as she ran towards the apartment door. Kate meandered along behind her, reaching the entryway just as her daughter threw open the door to reveal Rick and Alexis, as expected. The two girls barreled into each other.

"You would think it had been two weeks, not two days." Rick commented as he approached Kate to give her a light peck on the lips.

"Mmm." Kate agreed. "Why didn't you just use your key?"

"Alexis wanted to knock." Rick shrugged. "Come one girls. Get inside. I'm sure you've both got homework." He hustled the two girls - who were still hugging it out in the hallway - into the apartment.

The girls broke apart and Alexis came over to hug Kate.

"I missed you too Mom." Alexis murmured into the woman's hair when Kate crouched down to greet her.

"I missed you." Kate insisted. When she looked up she noticed Rick and Alyssa in a similar situation.

"Okay, homework time ladies." Rick announced.

Both girls groaned, mostly for dramatic effect, before happily making their way to the dining room table with their pencil cases and exercise books.

Rick and Kate adjourned to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

"Remind me again why we haven't moved in together?" Kate asked.

"Because your apartment is too small and I don't have s apare room now that mother has moved in with us."

"So?" Kate countered. "Why is that stopping us? You're here or we're there nearly every night."

"I can't exactly kick my mother out Kate, as much as I'd like to sometimes. I know the girls are great with each other but they'll need their own space." Rick replied, reaching down into a cupboard to grab a fry pan.

"I didn't mean it like that Rick. Geez, I wouldn't ask you to kick Martha out."

"Okay then, what are you suggesting?" Rick asked her as she spun to grab the tomato paste from the pantry. When she came back to the counter though her eyes were downcast and a dusting of pink had spread across her cheeks.

"Kate?" He called her attention back to the conversation after she'd been silent for several minutes.

"We could get our own place. Not mine, not yours but something that's ours. Together." Her eyes were still floor-ward.

"I mean I know I don't earn nearly as much as you so you'd be paying for most of it but I can put in some too." She had begun to ramble now, pottering around the kitchen, still not meeting Rick's eyes.

"Marry me." Rick interrupted. Kate stopped short and her eyes shot upwards.

"What?" She quiried, bewildered.

"Marry me? Besides the fact that I love you and you're daughter, if we're going to do this, let's do it right. Marry me and you won't have to worry about helping me pay for a place because what's mine will be yours. I know it's sudden and I don't have the ring on me but…"

"Yes." Kate said, a smile plastering her face. Both grinning, they were about to kiss to mark the occasion when a collective groan came from the table.

"Daaaaad!" Alexis whined. "You're doing it all wrong! You're supposed to have a ring and get down on one knee. And it's supposed to be someplace romantic and special, not the kitchen!"

Kate smothered a laugh and hid her smile behind her hind as Rick floundered to come up with words that would defend his actions, or lack thereof.

He'd flapped his lips like a fish for a few moments only to manage to say his daughter's name a few times. Finally his shoulders slumped.

"You're right. I'm sorry." He turned to Kate. "I'm sorry Kate, Alexis is right. I should've done this right. I will do this right. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Rick, no. Girls, it was fine. It's better than fine. It was perfect." Kate placated, a hand to Rick's chest.

Rick shook his head. "I'm taking you out to dinner. Tomorrow night." He affirmed.

"With us?" Alyssa asked, standing on the chair she'd previously been sitting on.

Both adults narrowed their eyes at her and she promptly sat back down.

Kate and Rick looked at each other in silent question. When both shrugged Kate turned back to the girls.

"Sure."

Kate, Alexis, and Alyssa were all sitting on the edge of Kate's bed looking at the choices before them. Each of them and narrowed down their wardrobe to two dresses. Their hair and make up was already complete and Rick was going to be here to pick them up in twenty minutes.

"Okay ladies, decision time." Kate asserted, standing up and grabbing her two dresses to hold up in front of her daughters. "Which one?" The ummed and ahhed and whispered to each other for a moment before making a final decision and pointing to the one in her left hand.

It was made of emerald green silk, the kind that shimmered whenever she moved. It was a halter neck and came midway down her back. On the left side the fabric bunched at the hip with jewels covering the rippled material. It would go well with the silver strapped heels in Kate's closet.

"Okay, now you two. Alyssa do you think the blue one would look good on Alexis?" Alyssa enthusiastically nodded her consent.

"And Alexis?"

"Alyssa should wear the purple one." Alexis stated.

"I think so too. We have to hurry now though, we're almost out of time. We don't want to be rushing around still when our date gets here." Kate reminded them before hustling inot the bathroom with her dress.

Twenty minutes later, right on time, there was a knock at the door. Alyssa and Alexis dashed to answer it but Kate was already waiting and she turned the knob just as the arrived in the entryway. She opened the door wide to reveal Rick, dressed in a charcoal suit with a navy shirt, holding a large bunch of flowers.

Before words could pass between them Kate surged forward and gently claimed his lips with hers, being careful not to crush the beautiful bouquet.

"Hey," She whispered as she pulled back.

"Good evening." Her replied with an eye-crinkling smile.

"Daddy!" Alexis squealed. "Those are pretty flowers. Are they for us?"

"No, these are for Kate, I mean Mom." His grin turned sly as both Alexis and Alyssa's faces dropped. He handed the flowers to Kate and gently stepped past her into the apartment. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out two silver charm bracelets.

"These are for two lovely young girls I know. Have you seen them?" He asked, crouching down to their level.

"For us?" Alyssa asked.

"You aren't my girls. You're much too old." Rick winked up at Kate as he teased them.

"We are, we are!" They cried.

"Well if you say so…" Rick held out the bracelets. "Then yes, these are for you." Carefully he placed the bracelets around each girl's wrist and they hugged him in turn.

He got back to his feet. Kate had placed the flowers in a vase and set them on the counter.

"Where's mine?" She challenged.

"It's coming, don't worry." Rick replied smugly before taking her arm with one hand and turning to the girls with the other. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well over 6 months late and shorter than usual. For that I am sorry. Real life sucks though. I'm looking forward to working on this and hopefully completing it over the hiatus. **

**Stay tuned for the next chapter when you see the Castle/Beckett family date and also find out what custodial arrangements have been made for Alexis.**

**As always, thanks to the amazing reviewers of last chapter (I hope you're all still with me): sakura2113, michelle947, AshLiz, fanka77, ShannonJethroGideonCastleSnape, aussiewritergirl27, , docvap, VIOLET1213, Justicerocks, Docnerd89, keal, mysticgirl101, NCISchick, Onelife30, melindaWRITER, IHeartStana, xiheartcastle, Wiggle34, KB-RC23, Lur27, StupendousBoo, jnryan93, phnxgrl, and the 3 guest users! **

**You guys are amazing and I hope you'll stick with me despite the time gap. From here on I will be updating fortnightly at least, if not more. No more six month gaps because I am no longer moving houses nor on prac for four weeks. **

**This chapter was unbeta-ed because I wanted to get it up ASAP so all mistakes here are mine. **

**Have a great week.**

**Sacha x0x**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I just realized that it's been almost 2 years since I first started this story. And well over 6 months since I updated. Sorry about that. Life stuff got in the way. I'll tell you more about it in the Author's Note at the end if you're interested. Anyway, enjoy the update. Another one is almost fully written and I'll be working on it now.**

**Anyway, this unbeta-ed chapter is dedicated to Grace (NCISchick) because it was her B'day today and I wanted to do something special for her. Love ya girl! Happy Birthday!**

** Chapter 18**

**Sunday 16 December 2001**

The four of them sat in the limousine, Alexis and Alyssa on one side, Rick and Kate on the other. Alyssa was practically bouncing with barely contained excitement, having never been in a limo before, while Alexis was recounting the numerous experiences she'd had riding with her father in the black stretch car.

Kate placed her hand on Rick's thigh, drawing his attention away from the two girls and onto her.

"Hey." Rick murmured with a smile that set his eyes alight.

"Hey." Kate whispered back, leaning into his shoulder. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope." Rick spoke into her ear as he kissed her head.

Kate sighed and continued to lean her head against his shoulder. She moved her focus back to the two girls. They were doing their best to act grown up as they drank apple juice from the champagne glasses.

"This is fun." Kate sighed.

"The night hasn't even begun yet." Rick chuckled.

"Yeah it has, for us girls anyway. It was fun getting ready with them. Look at them, they feel so grown up Rick."

The limo drove them through the crowded streets for a further twenty minutes before the traffic dispersed as they headed towards Queens and Brooklyn.

"Rick, seriously, where are we going?"

"It's not far now. Besides, the girls are on holidays. They can have one late night. It won't hurt."

It was only a short time later when they pulled up outside a classy restaurant in Long Island.

"I didn't want paparazzi to ruin our night." Rick whispered into Kate's ear as he helped her out of the car. His chivalry continued as he assisted the two girls out of the car with a hand.

Alexis and Alyssa lead them through the double glass doors of the four star place. Both girls stopped at the hostess stand and Alexis turned to her father.

"Do we have a reservation?" She asked him.

Rick nodded. "Under Rogers."

Alexis turned back to the hostess stand where a woman in her early 20's was standing.

"Rogers fro four people please." Alexis asked politely. She looked down at Alexis in surprise before she regained her composure.

"Absolutely. I have you right here. Rogers, four people at 8 o'clock, window seat preferred." She prattled off.

"That's us." Rick smiled, linking arms with Kate.

The girl, Emma according to her name tag, picked up four menus and walked them through to the table covered by a pristine white cloth with four comfortable looking chairs around it. Rick and Kate took the same side, allowing the girls to sit next to each other. They had barely sat down when a waiter came over to fill their water glasses. He introduced himself as Marcus. Before he could dash off Rick ordered a bottle of champagne and some sparkling juice for the two girls.

"You better not have a ring coming out in my glass Mr. Castle because that would be incredibly cheesy." Kate teased after Marcus had left, nudging him with her elbow.

"But it would be so romantic!" Alyssa sighed.

"It's pretty lame. Far to cliché." Kate told her daughter.

"What's cliché?" Alexis asked.

"It means something is over done or used too much. I'm sure your father can think of something more original. Right?" Kate said, smiling over at Rick again.

When she met his eyes though, her fiancé looked panic stricken; like a deer caught in headlights.

"I mean if it is in the champagne, then that's great. As Alyssa said, so romantic, it's every woman's dream proposal…" Kate tried to back pedal.

Rick's face broke wide open with a grin and Kate breathed in a great sigh.

"Don't do that to me." Kate scowled jokingly. Both girls were in a fits of giggles across from them.

Kate huffed and elbowed him just a bit too hard to be playful.

"Ow Kate! Not nice!" Rick all but whimpered. Kate merely opened her menu and began perusing, effectively ignoring him.

Their daughters followed suite, still whispering back and forth, trying to muffle their giggles behind their hands.

"Okay ladies, that's enough." Rick chastised lightly as they started to get louder and louder. "Have a look at your menus. Marcus will be back soon to take our orders."

Kate reached her arm behind Rick's back, resting her palm in the centre and leaning over to share his menu.

"What are you getting?"

"I was thinking lamb. You?"

"Hmmm, I like the sound of the mushroom truffle tortellini." Kate almost purred. Rick gulped before regaining his voice.

"Girls?"

"May I please have the pumpkin risotto?" Alexis requested.

"Me too please." Alyssa echoed.

"Sure thing. Ah! Just in time." Rick smiled up at Marcus as he returned with their drinks. Rick quickly placed their order before turning back to his family.

"A toast!" He proclaimed. "To tonight and the lovely ladies sitting at the table, who deign to grace me with their presence."

* * *

><p>All the way through dinner Kate was waiting for it, for him. But dinner passed proposal-less. She half expected the ring to be in the middle of her dessert, but alas, there was nothing. She was tack aback when Rick payed the bill shortly after they'd finished and stood from the table, offering her a hand to get out. She looked at him through half squinted eyes, head cocked to the left, suspicious.<p>

"Patience love." Was all he said before turning to their daughters and joining into their conversation as they ventured back outside to the awaiting car.

"Where are we going now? Back to the city?" Kate interrogated once they got back on the road.

"Mommy!" Both girls chastised simultaneously.

"You'll ruin the surprise!" Alexis finished.

"You're in on this aren't you? Both of you girls, you know exactly where we're going, don't you?" Kate accused.

Both girls failed to suppress wide grins though Kate wasn't sure they were trying to hide them at all.

"Maybe I can persuade you to tell me…" Kate tempted her daughters. Both shook their heads resolutely.

"Are you sure about that?" Kate asked coyly, reaching towards them, wiggling her fingers in a tickling motion.

"Daddy!" They all but shrieked in unison.

"Kate! No torture tactics. Just be patient. Don't ruin the surprise." Rick played it up for the girls, grabbing Kate's hands in his own and pretended to restrain her. He wrapped his arms around her and watched Alyssa and Alexis return to a conversation about an imaginary puppy. Or maybe it was abut the puppy they were going to try and con out of their parents. It was probably that, Rick thought.

"I think we're in trouble Kate." He murmured in her ear.

"The puppy thing?"

"Well, there's that. I was more referring to how in sync they are. Especially when they chastise us…" He smiled and kissed her ear.

"Rick, we have two daughters. As a daughter myself, let me say, we were in trouble from the day they were born."

"True. And can I just say how glad I am that I don't have to face those dangers alone." Rick smiled, looking over at his two girls.

"Me too. Although, I think you're alone on the puppy thing. You can fight that battle." Kate had just laid her head on Rick's shoulder when the limo rolled to a stop.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Were you not paying attention? Brilliant. Put this on." Rick handed her a black blindfold from his jacket pocket.

"Riiiiick…" She whined.

"Please. Humor me… humor us?" He was pointed to their girls, their faces alight with joy and excitement.

"Using my own kids against me." She huffed as she took the blindfold off him and covered her eyes, ensuring she didn't snag her hair in the knot she tied behind her head.

Rick took her hand and guided her out of the car, keeping hold of her elbow while the girls emereged after them.

They scampered off, following the path towards the open grassed area that overlooked the city skyline.

"Don't let me trip Rick. I'm wearing heels remember." Kate breathed out nervously, gripping onto Rick's bicep harder as she stumbled on a few lose pebbles.

"Sorry, I should have thought of that. I should've packed you some flats. Are you warm enough?"

"Yeah," She said with a smile in his general direction. They walked a few more steps before Kate stumbled again as her heel caught in a pavement crack.

"Rick!" She squeaked as he gripped her hips tightly to keep her from falling.

"Okay, that's it, I've got a better idea." Rick mumbled mostly to himself while moving away from her.

"Does it include me removing this ridiculous blindfold? Cause that would be great." She complained. "I mean, really…" Her hands were moving up to the cloth covering her eyes when she was quite literally swept off her feet and into Rick's arms.

"Rick!" She all but screamed as her body found a comfortable place to rest against his bulky frame.

"It's not far, just relax." Rick soothed. Kate looked rather put out beneath the fabric that masked her eyes.

Rick was only carrying her for about a minute before he placed her down on what sounded like a metal platform of some kind. She could smell water, possibly one of the rivers, and she sensed something in front of her.

"Okay, you can take it off now." Rick allowed.

Suddenly she was less eager to remove the blindfold, as if the moment leading up to the great reveal could possibly be greater than the surprise itself.

Slowly she removed the blindfold. Rick turned to look at her face and realized her eyes were still closed.

"Kate, honey, you're going to need to open your eyes eventually." He said from beside her somewhere.

The first thing she saw when she gathered the courage to pry her eyes open were lights, the city lights, gleaming at her from across the river. And beside her was the Roosevelt Island tram.

"Are we getting on?" She asked, turning to face Rick.

"We are. Girls, would you like to lead the way?"

The girls smiled up at the attendant and jumped into the floating box.

"Come on." Rick smiled, taking Kate's hand and leading her into the tram car. The doors closed behind them but she barely noticed. She looked around and realized it was more than just her, Rick and the two girls. He whole family was here. Her dad, Lanie, Javi, and Kevin were smiling at her from the opposite side of the car.

She turned to her almost fiancé only to realize he had moved aside and her two beautiful daughters were standing in front of her.

"Mommy," Alyssa began, reaching up to grab Kate's left hand. "We've been two for quite a while, basically my whole life and it's been great. I love my live you with and Grandpa and I could have never imagined our life getting any better until I met Alexis."

Kate was already tearing up when Alexis grabbed her right hand and shifted Kate's focus to her.

"Daddy and I always had each other. It was the best thing. We could always count on each other to be there. We lived our story and were happy enough with just the two of us and Gram when Mom left for California. I never even thought I could ever have a sister and I didn't think I would get to grow up with a Mom until I met Alyssa."

The tears were freely falling down Kate's face now and she was momentarily confused when both girls let go of their hands to pull off matching necklaces. Almost freakishly in sync the girls each threaded a ring off their necklaces.

Alyssa took her hand again, flipping it so it was palm up. She placed a delicate looking ring into Kate's hand. It looked to be platinum with a brown at the top.

"This ring means loyalty." Alyssa said simply. Kate barely had time to take it in before Alexis took back her right hand and placed another platinum band in it. This had two connecting hands at the top.

"This ring represents friendship." Alexis stated. Both girls took a small step back and released her hands.

Kate slowly lifted her gaze from the rings in her hands to see Rick kneeling before her, a beautiful heart shaped diamond ring in his fingers.

"This ring represents love." Rick smiled up at her, gently taking the two rings from her hands. He broke eye contact momentarily to join the three rings together, making an elegant claddagh engagement ring. He held them up before her again, now as one ring. "Loyalty, friendship, and love. Seems to me like a good foundation for our next chapter." Kate nodded, smiling through the tears streaming down her face.

"Kate, will you marry me and make us a family?"

Rick had barely finished the question when Kate answered.

"Yes! Oh, God yes!" She all but yelled.

Rick grinned wide as he slipped the ring onto her finger. Then she was dragging him up by his lapels, barely letting him get his feet under him before roughly pulling him into an earth shattering kiss.

It was almost a full minute before they pulled back, opening their arms to Alyssa and Alexis. Their two daughters came barrelling into them. Their friends and family soon followed, clapping and smiling, hugging and congratulating them within the small tram car which was now making it's way back to the Manhattan mainland, having already completed one full circle trip.

**A/N: So there you go. I actually wrote this in November but life is full of interruptions. I was really depressed at the beginning of this year and I didn't really begin to recover from it until August/October. I moved out, I changed university degrees, and just in general had a lot going on. I still am committed to finishing this though, however long it takes. I just want to thank those of you who have stuck with me through the lack of updates. And also to all of those newer readers who have left reviews and followed the story despite its lack of updates. You guys were part of the force that drove me to keep going and write these next few chapters. **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed chapter 17: kiwiOCD, jnryan93, Caskett Hopeful, oldmoviewatcher, phnxgrl, fanka77, ShannonJethroGideonCaslteSnape, mysticgirl101, elsatheicequeen, Bookworm0485, IHeartStana, NCISchick, behindasmile7, BamfCaskett, VIOLET1213, AshLiz, jag389, StupendousBoo, Alex Beckett, Macahol84, Satan's Adorable Spawn, , Guest, Caskett2013, Guest, juliafvpereira, Minerva89, Tamerlorde85, and 41319fan.**

**You guys are awesome. Can't wait to hear from you again! **

**Love Sacha**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Sunday 23 December 2001**

Rick and Kate were sitting on the leather couch in the loft under several blankets.

"You know, I've been thinking…" Kate began, spinning her engagement ring around her finger.

"Mmm?" Rick murmured from behind her. She was leaning against his chest, head on his shoulder.

"Decent apartments are hard to come by in New York and this place is pretty great. It would be a shame to settle for less than what we have here…" She let the words trail off.

"Are you saying you want to move in here instead of apartment hunt?" Rick questioned, grabbing her shoulder and squeezing reassuringly.

"I'm saying, that other than the fact that you're mother is living here, the loft suits are needs for now. The girls are happy here, I'm happy here and I think Alyssa and I should start bringing more of our stuff over."

"I agree." Rick said, leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on to the hair on the back of her head.

"And I was thinking, maybe we could talk to Martha. If she wants to escape the commotion in the house. Maybe she could live at mine and Alyssa's old place. And if she doesn't want to that's okay too. I mean, it's not like we need the extra room right now."

"You can stop trying to convince me. I'm convinced." Rick laughed. "I'll talk to Mother when she gets home."

"And if we have to upgrade in the future we can talk about that then, find a new place if we have to." Kate continued babbling on.

Rick leaned forward and grabbed her wrist, placing a kiss at the pulse point, interrupting her. "Sounds great babe." He smiled. "But even when Alyssa and Alexis no longer want to share a room we'll have the spare."

"Not the kind of upgrade I was referring to." Kate replied with a small, nervous smile.

"Are you talking about more kids?" Rick asked, eyes wide at the possibilities.

"Eventually." Kate conceded. "I mean…" She was cut off by a sharp rap at the door.

Kate checked her watch. It was almost ten. Rick followed suit, pulling her wrist up to his eye level to check the time for himself. He kissed her hand again before letting go and grunting as Kate took her weight off him so he could stand up.

He was still a few steps from the door when the knocking came again, followed by Meredith's shrill tone.

"Come on Ricky, open the door. I know you're in there."

Rick looked back to Kate with fearful eyes. She was immediately on her feet, stepping up behind him, backing him up.

He clicked the lock open and pushed down on the handle, only opening the door and arms width, not allowing his ex-wife anything close to and invitation inside.

"What do you want?" His tone wasn't harsh but it wasn't friendly exactly either.

"I just want to talk. About Alexis." She came across as innocent, wide eyes, sweet voice laced with good intentions but Rick knew this game. She'd drop by late at night or when she knew he had meetings, trying to catch him at a disadvantage.

"Come back tomorrow." He said, already moving to close the door.

"Just let me in Rick. We can sort this out now." She tried to persuade.

"Look, Mere, Christmas is in two days. I'm happy for you to spend some time with Alexis, really I am, but you can't just drop by unannounced, especially at this time of night. Now if you go back to your hotel and come back tomorrow around 10 we can sort something out. We can have a talk and maybe even plan for Alexis to come stay with you for a while. But not now." Rick stood his ground, Kate's firm hand on his back giving him unspeakable support.

Meredith huffed from the other side of the threshold.

"Can I at least come in to use the ladies, powder my nose?" She asked.

Rick closed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. He looked defeated. Kate hated the way his ex-wife seemed to do that to him. She could see he was about to fold when Kate stepped forward, pushing him aside.

"Look, Meredith, you've been asked to leave and return tomorrow. If you persist in trying to gain entry to this home I will place you under arrest for harassment. Now if you need to use the bathroom I'm sure the convenience story across the road will be happy to accommodate you." Kate said in an authoritative voice, taking all power away from the woman in the hall.

Meredith looked affronted and slightly disgusted at Kate's suggestion. "That place is dirty and disgusting. I could catch some kind of disease." She complained.

"Then you obviously don't need to go that badly. We'll see you tomorrow at 10am. We won't be answering the door any earlier so don't come before then. Have a nice night and a safe trip back to your hotel." And with that Kate promptly shut the door in Meredith's face. She locked it and grabbed Rick by the hand, dragging her slightly slack jawed man into the master bedroom. He sat on the end of the bed and Kate moved around to sit next to him.

"You alright?" She had her head ducked to try and look him in the eye.

"Yeah." He took a deep breath and lifted his head. "I hate it when she does that. I wish she would just call beforehand. I'd be happy to arrange something but she just rocks up unannounced and expects me to drop everything. She expects me to stop the world just for her." Rick growled as he finished his rant.

"You did good tonight." Kate soothed, running a hand over his back.

"No, you did good. I was just about to cave. But you, you just stepped in and took over. You got her to leave and didn't budge an inch."

Kate shrugged.

"That's going to be a useful talent of yours in years to come with our girls." Rick smiled, lovingly.

Kate laughed but turned serious again shortly after.

"What are we going to do tomorrow morning then? It's Christmas Eve."

"Alexis and I usually do brunch on Christmas Eve morning." Rick smiled.

"Then I think we make a big brunch, invite Meredith. Let's make it a family thing." Kate reasoned.

"You're brilliant, did you know that?" Rick smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "You're working Christmas day aren't you?"

"Just the morning shift. I'll be leaving at six, earlier if a body drops. Back by eleven, twelve at the latest."

"Well, I think we should do presents tomorrow night instead of Christmas morning then. I don't want to make the girls wait for you to get home but I don't want you to miss out either." Rick said, turning his whole body to face her now.

"Sounds good to me. I'll have to go over to my place and grab your presents though. Maybe we can do that after brunch, give Meredith a few hours alone with Alexis. You and Alyssa can either stay here or come with me to the apartment." Kate suggested. Rick grunted his assent, though he obviously wasn't taken with the idea of leaving Alexis alone with her mother, especially on Christmas Eve.

"Make sure I have Alexis's passport on me." He grunted.

"Okay," Kate laughed, unsure whether he was serious or not. "Actually, you know what? You and Alyssa can both come. We'll take your car and bring some of our stuff back here. It can be part of the girls' present, Aly and I moving in."

Rick seemed to perk up at the suggestion of Kate and Alyssa moving in as early as tomorrow.

"Okay." He said, trying to sound put out but the excitement was practically bubbling out of his eyes.

"And on Christmas day we can see if Meredith can come over in the morning and do something with Alexis. My dad can probably take Alyssa for a few hours before he comes over for lunch."

"Kate." Rick warned. "I can spend time with Alyssa. We'll go out and do some daddy-daughter stuff." Rick was smiling now, looking forward to spending some one on one time with his newly acquired daughter. He loved Alexis with all he had and he loved Alyssa just as much and he knew that Alyssa had never really had a father figure in her life beyond the influence of her grandfather.

"Really?" Kate asked. Her eyes seemed to pleading with him, as though this was the most precious gift he could give and she was begging him not to take it back.

"Of course. It'll be great." He smiled reassuringly.

"Okay." Kate's smile reached from ear to hear and then she suddenly pounced him, knocking him back on the bed and colliding her lips with his.

**Monday December 24 2001 – Christmas Eve**

Alyssa and Alexis were lurking outside the door to the master bedroom. It was only six but it was the day before Christmas and they were excited. Especially since their mother had today off even if she had to work on Christmas day. Sleep was a distant memory for both girls and if all went according to plan, so it would be for their parents also.

Alyssa held out three fingers and counted them down. When she had none left Alexis slowly pushed the down the door handle. They snuck in, dropping onto all fours as the passed the threshold to the room.

Alexis went left while Alyssa crawled right, moving towards the head of the king sized bed. They kneeled so they could see one another above the sleeping bodies in the bed.

Once again Alyssa counted down from three on silent fingers. This time, on zero, both girls jumped and assaulted both of the bed's occupants.

"Rawr!" Both girls growled as they set about trying to tickle their parents under the covers.

Rick merely groaned, rolling over and burying himself deeper under the covers, using the thick duvet as armour against the attack.

Kate meanwhile was sitting up in bed, trying to return fire on her daughters. She hand a hand on each of their sides and was tickling mercilessly. Finally, both girls flopped down in the small amount of space between their parents, out of breath and slightly drowsy again in the warm room.

Kate moved sideways a little to give the girls some more room. They rolled over onto their backs, staring at the ceiling.

"What are we doing today?" Alexis asked, squished between Alyssa and Rick.

"Well actually, we have a surprise for you Lex." Kate murmured, trying to put a positive spin on the situation. She had no idea how Alexis would react to the news.

"Oh, what is it?" Alexis asked at the same time as Alyssa piped up with "What about me?"

"Shhhh…. Don't disturb your father. Alexis, your mom is coming over for brunch this morning." Kate said it with the best smile she could muster, turning her head to look at her girls.

"Really?" Alexis's reply was a combination of scepticism and unwarranted hope.

"Yup. She let us know last night. She should be here around ten." Kate affirmed.

"Can I help cook?" Alexis asked.

"Me too!" Demanded Alyssa. "Me too!"

"Of course you can, both of you. I can teach you some of my Mom's special recipes." Kate smiled despite the clenching fist around her heart at the thought.

"Seriously?" They asked in unison. Their synchronisation was getting scarier and more accurate with each passing day.

"Yes, I'm serious." Kate's eyes were slipping closed again and she shuffled down in the bed to rest her head on the pillow.

"Are you going back to sleep?" Alyssa asked.

Kate mumbled and affirmation. "Alarm set for eight thirty." She muttered.

"Okay." Alyssa agreed and rolled over the face Alexis. The girls whispered quietly for a few minutes before they too fell asleep between their parents.

Rick woke at eight twenty-six. He hated when he woke before his alarm. It was like his body was cheating him on those last four minutes of precious sleep. He went to roll over in an effort to grasp those last valuable minutes of slumber before the onslaught of the day ahead hit him. As he tried to turn in the bed however he found his back hit a small but solid mass. He rearranged and managed to turn to face Kate's side of the bed. It was now housing not only a sleeping Kate but also a sleeping Alexis and Alyssa. He was just getting ready to settle in, watch his family sleeping before waking the girls with a tickle attack, when the alarm beat him to it with a piercing beeping noise. As soon as it had started it stopped as Kate reached out an arm to grab her phone and swipe the screen.

She was still drowsy but the girls looked and sounded like they had have really been sleeping in the first place, just lying in wait for the alarm to sound.

"Come on! Gotta get up! Gotta make brunch!" Alexis said as she all but bounced on her knees in the middle of the bed.

"Lex, settle. Let us wask up." Rick tried to calm his daughter.

"But we get to help and it's almost time. Hurry up Mommy!" Alyssa urged, backing Alexis up. She got of the bed and pulled on Kate's arm in further efforts to coax her out of the warm sheets.

"Aly, Lex." Rick admonished gruffy. "Why don't you two go and get changed, make sure your beds are made and your room is clean. We'll be out soon." He promised.

"But..." Alyssa tried to counter.

"Go. Now." He instructed in a no-nonsense tone.

"Okay." They droned together. They left the room and to Rick's great relief, shut the door behind them.

"Morning." Rick greeted Kate before shuffling across the expanse to give her a chase kiss.

"Mmm… hey." Kate replied in kind, still drowsy. "You don't have to get up you know. The girls and I can make brunch." Kate suggested.

"Do you not want me there? Is it a girls only thing? If it is, that's okay. I can make myself scarce." Rick complied.

"No, no, by all means. I just thought you might like more sleep. But if you want to help I'm sure we can put you to work. There'll be plenty of washing up to do, let me assure you."

"On second thought…" Rick back pedalled teasingly.

"Uh-uh, nope, no take backs." Kate said. She rolled on top of him, straddling his torso. Grasping his hands for balance she leant down and kissed him. It was soft and languid and when she pulled back she allowed herself to collapse on his chest. They lay there lake that for a few minutes before a sharp knock sounded on their door.

"5 minute warning!" Alexis yelled through the wood in the most authoritative voice she could muster.

Kate muffled her laughter in Rick's shirt.

"We should get moving." Rick whispered in her ear.

"Yeah." Kate agreed, making no effort to get up.

"I don't hear you getting ready!" Alyssa called and Kate and Rick couldn't suppress their laughter this time.

"We're serious!" Alexis reprimanded.

"If you're not ready in three and a half minutes there will be consequences." Alyssa followed.

"Okay, okay!" Rick conceded, sitting up so that Kate was now sitting on his lap facing him. "Time to get up." He murmured.

"Yeah. Come on. Let's get today started. Lots to do." Kate agreed.

"Yeah. Lots to do. Ex-wife coming over for brunch and then she's gonna take my kid away." Rick groaned, hiding his face in her neck.

"And then we're going to move Alyssa and me in, at least partially anyway. Then presents!" Kate countered, lifting his face to meet his eyes. They sparked with boyish excitement though she wasn't sure if it was at the prospect of her moving in or the idea of presents. Quite possibly both.

Rick stood suddenly, Kate still wrapped around him, now holding onto his neck for dear life. He walked them to the walk in closet while Kate giggled. She dropped to her feet just inside the door. She pressed a surprisingly heated kiss to his lips before grabbing a dress and sauntering off to the ensuite bathroom to get ready.

It was nearly quarter past ten and Alexis was beginning to look deflated. Brunch was spread out across the table, an array of delectable breakfast foods. Pancakes, waffles, fruit salad, bacon and eggs all sat looking delectable but getting cold.

"Is she coming? Daddy, can you call her?" Alexis asked, coming to lean against Rick's side.

"Sure thing sweetheart." But just as he went to pull the phone out of his pocket there was a light knock at the door.

"That's probably her right now." Kate smiled, standing from the bench to go answer the door. Alexis followed, standing behind Kate and lightly holding onto the back of her shirt trying to find reassurance.

Kate opened the door and Meredith sauntered through.

"Sorry I'm late." Was all she said as she placed her coat and bag over a chair in the entry way before moving to sit at the table. "Oh, who made breakfast?" She asked, turning to look at the family of four who were all standing behind her now.

"All of us." Alexis said as Kate encouragingly pushed her forward towards he mother.

"Did you? What did you make Alexis? Come sit with me." She invited, indicating to the seat next to her own.

Alexis smiled shyly and approached the table, taking the seat as Meredith suggested. Kate, Rick, and Alyssa followed soon after.

As they all started added food to their plates Meredith was asking Alexis an array of questions about school and her friends.

"Oh, this is Alyssa! She's my best friend. We're almost sisters." Alexis blurted out, pointing to Alyssa who sat across from her.

"Oh, it's nice to have friends who are like sisters. When I was in school I had a friend named Sarah who was like a sister to me." Meredith recounted. "It's nice to meet you Alyssa. I'm Meredith."

Alyssa smiled at her. "Yeah? We're gonna be real sisters soon too, right Mom?" Alyssa asked, looking up at Kate.

Meredith's head shot around to try and catch a glimpse of Kate's left hand.

"Yeah. Soon." Kate affirmed, boldly showing off her engagement ring as she placed her hand up on the table.

"When did this happen?" Meredith's question was directed at Rick.

"A week ago yesterday." Rick answered, turning his head briefly to flash Kate a smile.

"You're moving a little fast don't you think?" Meredith accused.

Rick's eyes flashed with anger but he didn't let his voice betray his calm exterior.

"We don't think so. It feels right." He smiled through gritted teeth. Meredith seemed to consider his answer for a moment, debating whether to further pursue the topic. Instead she merely shrugged and turned back to talking to Alexis while Alyssa chimed in every now and then.

"Girls, why don't you collect the plates and stack the dishwasher?" Rick suggested when everyone had eaten their fill.

"But Dad…" Alyssa turned to argue. She took one look at his raised eyebrows and his, 'do you really want to argue?' expression before she stood up and started clearing, Alexis close behind her.

When they girl's were in the kitchen and out of hearing distance Rick turned to Meredith.

"Kate and I have some things to do today and we were wondering if you'd like to spend some one on one time with Alexis?"

"Really?" Meredith asked sceptically.

"Of course. She can spend the afternoon with you and you could bring her back here before dinner. Then tomorrow you can come and spend some time with her in the morning if you like." Rick invited.

"Okay. Thanks. I'll go let her know." Meredith was smiling as she stood and headed for the kitchen.

Kate and Rick could hear a muffled conversation and then Alexis's squeal with excitement. They heard the sound of the dishwasher starting followed by the pitter-patter of feet climbing the stairs. Alyssa returned to the dining room alone looking forlorn and lonely.

"What's up, buttercup?" Rick asked, reaching out and grabbing her arm as she started to walk past. Following his direction, she came to stand in front of him.

"Alexis is going to go off with her real Mommy and what if she decides she likes her better than my Mommy? What if she wants to spend time with her real mommy and not with me anymore?" Alyssa's voice was small and low.

"Aly, honey, don't worry. Alexis loves us all just as much as she loves her real mom. She loves me and you and your mom so much. She's just excited. She spends all day everyday with us and she barely sees her real mom. It's like when you haven't seen a friend in a really long time and you want to hang out with them instead of Mommy or Alexis. It doesn't mean you don't love them anymore, it just means you're excited to spend time with your friend." Rick tried to explain, his hands resting on Alyssa's shoulders.

"Promise?"

"I promise. But while Alexis is spending time with Meredith we have a surprise for you. And you can help us surprise Alexis when she gets home tonight."

As if on cue, Alexis and Meredith came down the stairs, Alexis in clothes her mother had obviously helped her pick out, toting a handbag Rick recognized as a gift Meredith gave Alexis for her birthday last year.

"Ciao darlings!" Meredith called as she approached the front door, Alexis in tow. As Meredith pushed down on the door handle, Alexis put her bag down on the floor and came over to say her goodbyes, hugging Kate and Rick before tackling Alyssa in a bear hug, making them both giggle as they teetered but by some miracle didn't topple to the floor.

"We'll see you at dinner!" Alexis said by way of goodbye as she picked up her bag and took Meredith's hand. Alexis smile was 100 watt as she was led out the door by her mother, ready to, most likely, take on the town with a credit card.

**A/N: Here's an update for all you lovely people.**

**Working on Chapter 20 now!**

**To Keal: I like all the day to day stuff to but to take this story where I want it to go I kinda need to skip ahead in time a bit otherwise it would take forever and I'd never finish it. At the moment we're dealing with the holidays but in a few weeks time (story wise) we should be getting back to normal-ish, at least for a while anyway. **

**As always, thanks for the reviews! They really made me smile a lot!**

**And special thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter in particular: fanka77, Minerva89, Kate-kbex47, oldmoviewatcher, phnxgrl, NCISchick, guest, IHeartStana, Vic, Macahol84, VIOLET1213, hijackedbycastle, Guest, linaa13, Alex Beckett, and Keal. **

**You guys make it all worth writing and keep me going! Thanks for sticking with me through the long waits for updates.**

**Sacha**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Surprise guys! It takes me a while but I get there. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story and is still reading and thanks to every new person that has reviewed. Sorry for the lack of updates but, you know, life happens. **

**Thanks to the awesome reviewers from last chapter: oldmoviewatcher, fanka77, loveetodayy, phnxgrl, VIOLET1213, Lifes-a-beech7878, tyog56, , Paige02, lemony25, mysticgirl101, linaa13, Caskett-Alexis41319, and the two guests! You guys are awesome as always. **

**Enjoy the update, I can't wait to hear from you guys again!**

**Monday, December 24, 2001**

"Are we really, truly moving in with Alexis now Mommy?" Alyssa asked for the third time as she gathered more of her things to put in the suitcases in Kate's room.

"Yes, we really are. We're going to move all of our necessities today and then figure the rest out in the New Year."

"Is there anything in the kitchen you ladies want to bring?" Rick asked, poking his head through the bedroom door. He'd been busily packing some of Kate's treasured knick-knacks in the living room.

"Not that I know of. I think you have just about every thing we need back at the loft. Maybe pack up some of the food though. It's not like we'll need it here anymore." Kate replied. Rick nodded and was about to head back to do his newly assigned task when Alyssa stopped him.

"Wait, Dad!" She came scurrying over to meet him at the door. "Do we have bendy straws at the loft?"

Rick considered this for a moment. "Hmm, I'm not sure. How about we pack some just in case. Can you show me where they are?"

"Sure!" Alyssa replied, enthused.

"Hey!" Kate cried from the double bed in her room. "Aly's supposed to be helping me pack! You're stealing her. I'm going to need her to sit on this suitcase in a moment so I can zip it up." She complained.

"I promise to give her back… eventually." Rick appeased. He then grabbed Alyssa around the waist and picked her up, her back to his chest. "But for now, consider her stolen." He winked at Kate before jogging towards the kitchen, Alyssa giggling in his arms.

He placed her down when they reached the kitchen but she quickly jumped up to sit on the countertop.

"Third drawer." She instructed her father, watching him with a smile as he reached over to open the drawer she'd guided him to.

He stood up started again, straws in hand, and promptly passed them over to Alyssa.

"Thanks." She grinned and moved to push herself off the counter but Rick placed a hand on her knee to stop her. He moved she he was standing in front of her, his hands resting on the countertop on either side of her hips.

"Hey, Ally. I wanted to talk to you about something." He started.

"Okay." Alyssa smiled happily, kicking her legs against the cabinet.

"Your mom's working tomorrow morning." Alyssa nodded in acknowledgement. "And it looks like Alexis might be spending some time with her mother so I was thinking that you and I could spend some time together., just the two of us. What do you think?" Rick disguised his nervousness with a smile.

"Will Alexis be gone all day?" She asked. She had stopped kicking her legs and concern was lacing her voice.

"No Honey, just in the morning while your mom is at work." He assured.

"Okay. What do you want to do?" She queried, happily returning to swinging her legs.

"Well, Alexis and I usually go and help out a shelter and grab a hot coco on Christmas morning. Would you like to do that?"

"Cool. Wait, what's a shelter?" Alyssa asked.

"It's a place where all the people who don't have families and homes go to to get food and keep warm." Rick explained.

Alyssa looked sad upon hearing Rick's explanation.

"I've never been to a shelter before." She stated.

"Well, would you like to go help out tomorrow?" He asked again.

"Yeah, I think so. I like helping." She replied with a smile.

"So does Alexis." Rick smiled.

"I'm going to miss her tomorrow morning."

"Me too. And your mom as well. But we'll get by. Time will go quick. I promise you we'll barely notice." Rick appeased.

"Okay." Alyssa paused momentarily. "Does Mom know?"

"Not what we're doing. I thought I'd check with you first." Rick said with a wink.

"Can I go tell her?"

"Go ahead." He smiled, stepping back for the counter so she could jump down.

Alyssa flung herself off the counter and flew into her mother's bedroom, straws still in hand. Rick could hear her rattling off their plans as he approached the room. When he stepped through the door he could see Kate nodding as Alyssa animatedly listed off why it was going to be awesome.

"Sounds great Aly!" Kate agreed. "And when you get back Alexis and I will be home and we can do stockings and then a big dinner."

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever Mom!" Alyssa exclaimed. "When does Alexis come back?"

Rick pushed off the door frame where he'd been leaning and checked his watch. "In about an hour."

"We should get going back to the loft then I think." Kate instructed. "Alyssa, go and do a final sweep of your room. Make sure you haven't missed anything important."

"Okay!" Alyssa jetted off, full of eight-year-old energy.

Rick came in and sat next to Kate.

"How's your packing going?" He punctuated the question with a kiss to the side of her head.

"Almost done. I've just got to grab all the presents and I should be done." She smiled up at him. He leaned down and met her mouth with his.

"Hey." His grin was wide across his face. "I'm excited." He all but whispered.

"Me too." Kate confessed, catching his contagious smile.

"Come on then, let's get this done and go home." He entwined their hands and pulled her up off the bed. He dragged her to the Christmas tree in the living room and started piling up presents.

* * *

><p>It had just struck five when Alexis came barrelling through the front door of the loft, Meredith in tow. They were met with several boxes and suitcases littering the entry way but not the rest of the family.<p>

"Daddy?" Alexis called to no reply.

"Richard!" Meredith's shrill voice followed soon after her daughter's.

Alyssa's head suddenly appeared under a railing at the top of the stairs. She peered down but didn't say a word to them. Instead she turned her head back towards the hall and yelled out.

"Lexi's back!" There was movement on the second floor and then Rick appeared at the top of the stairs, his grin a mile wide.

"Hey, how was your day?" Ricked asked as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs.

"It was so good Dad. We went shopping!" Alexis opined towards the many bags the doorman was holding just outside the door. "Did you guys go shopping to?" She asked, pointed to the boxes piled up in the entry way.

"Not exactly." Rick told his daughter. "We do have a surprise for you though." He turned and called back up the stairs. "Kate, Alyssa, can you come down here please?"

"Do you really have to yell?" Meredith asked, annoyed.

"Did you need anything else Meredith?" Rick asked, trying to keep the spite out of his voice in front of his daughter.

"No. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Meredith bent down and put her arms out for Alexis. Alexis hugged her mother. "I'll see you later Darling, I love you."

"I love you too Mommy." Alexis replied before letting go of Meredith.

Meredith stood up and turned to face Rick again. "Bye Richard." She forced a smile onto her face before turning and letting herself out the door.

Before Alexis could get too disappointed at her mother's leaving Alyssa and Kate were at the bottom of the staircase and making their way towards the father and daughter pair.

Rick was about to open his mouth to tell Alexis her surprise when Kate interrupted him.

"Why don't we all go sit on the couch?" She suggested. Rick nodded and Alyssa grabbed Alexis' hand and all but dragged her to the living room, Kate and Rick in tow.

They'd barely sat down when Alyssa started bouncing on the couch cushions and turned to Alexis.

"Guess what?!" She beamed.

"What? What's the surprise?"

Kate and Rick both went to answer but before the could get a syllable out Alyssa was talking over them.

"Me and mom moved in!" she blurted out.

"Really?" Alexis didn't seem to be excited, merely thoughtful.

"Yup! Merry Christmas!" Alyssa grinned proudly.

Concerned, Kate spoke up. "Is that okay with you Alexis?"

"Yeah. It's really cool." She smiled before seeming to turn into her old self. "Did you bring your nail kit from your house?" She eagerly asked Alyssa.

"Of course! It's up in our room now!" Both girls went to stand up before Rick stopped them.

"We'll be having dinner in an hour so don't get too carried away with the make overs okay?"

"Yes Daddy." The girls responded before trying to bolt up the stairs again.

"Hey wait!" Rick called after them, laughing as they slumped their shoulders and drudge back over to the couch. "Do I not get a hug from my returning daughter?"

Alexis was all smiles again as she wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"I love you." He whispered into Alexis's neck.

"Love you too Daddy." She sighed back before letting go and smiling at him.

"Okay, go have fun." Both girls beamed and resumed their race up the stairs.

* * *

><p>After dinner Kate and Rick were enjoying a glass of wine in the living room. Rick's feet were up, resting on an ottoman while Kate leaned back against his side, his left arm falling over her shoulder, his fingers drawing patterns on her bent knee. Alexis and Alyssa had returned to their room after dinner to play some more before bed.<p>

"We would probably send them to bed soon. They both have early days tomorrow." Rick murmured into Kate's ear.

Kate grabbed Rick's wrist and examined his watch.

"We can give them another half hour or so I think. It's not like they're going to school." Kate replied. "Besides, I'm comfortable. I don't want to move." She let go of Rick's wrist and instead grabbed his fingers with hers. Kate sighed as she settled further into Rick's side.

"Do you think…" Rick's thought was interrupted but raised voices coming from the top of the stairs.

"No! Don't touch that! Stop it! Get out!" Alexis's voice cut through the relative silence of the apartment.

Kate sat up straight and turned to Rick. They looked at each other, concern etched on their faces but neither making a move to go up the stairs yet, waiting for it to play out.

"I want to have a go!" Alyssa's responding cry rang down the stairs.

"No!"

"I hate you!" Alyssa screamed and there was the sound of a door slamming, the door being reopened and then the pounding of two sets of very upset feet coming down the stairs and into the living room.

"You take Aly into our room. I'll grab Lex." Rick said before the girls made it to the couch. Kate nodded and both parents stood up.

Before either child could begin arguing and pleading their case with their parents Rick had scooped Alexis up and was taking her up the stairs while Kate had done the same with Alyssa, heading towards the master bedroom. Both girls had tear stained cheeks and red faces and they glared at each other over their respective parent's shoulders before walls separated them.

* * *

><p>Rick placed Alexis down at the head of her bed before sitting down at the end of it and turning to face her. He didn't say anything, deciding to wait her out.<p>

"I don't want Alyssa and Kate to live with us anymore." Alexis stated, pulling her stuffed monkey to her chest and burying her face in it. Rick carefully kept his face void of shock and disappointment.

"Why's that Lexi?"

"Cause I don't want Alyssa using my stuff anymore. I don't want to share anymore. She's going to break something." Alexis lamented.

"Did she break something already?" Rick asked.

"No…" Alexis answered begrudgingly.

"Then what happened up here a few minutes ago?"

"Alyssa was going through the bags of stuff I got with Mommy while I was trying to put it away and she grabbed one of the dresses and one of the purses and went to try it on. She was going to break the purse and put stains on the dress." Alexis's eyes were wide with argument.

"Alexis…" Rick began to reason with her but Alexis interrupted him.

"Are you and Alyssa really going to the homeless shelter tomorrow morning while Kate's at work and I'm with Mommy?" Her voice was small and almost broken.

"Yeah Lexi, we are."

"But but that's our Christmas tradition. That's our thing. You're my daddy." Alexis's voice was well and truly cracking now.

Rick sighed before taking a deep breath, running a hand over his face.

"Lexi, I'll always be your Daddy. But I'm Aly's Daddy now too. I thought that's what you two wanted, to be sisters." Alexis shook her head but he could see there was little meaning behind her actions.

"Do you love Kate and Alyssa?" He asked her, changing tactics.

"Yes." She answered quietly.

"Don't you want Kate to be your Mommy too?"

"I already have a Mommy." Alexis was quick to end that argument.

"You can have more than one Alexis."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Rick waited a moment before opening his arms to Alexis. She crawled into his lap and he engulfed her in a hug. "Were you jealous of Aly, Lex?"

Alexis was silent for a beat before responding. "A little. She gets to go out with you tomorrow and I don't."

"But you get to go out with your mom. Wasn't today fun?"

"Yeah." Alexis nodded again.

"Well I'm sure tomorrow will be fun too. And you know what, I think that Aly might have been a little jealous of you too." Rick informed her.

"What? Why?"

"Well, you went out shopping with your mom today and came home with all these new clothes and toys and Alyssa didn't get any of that."

"Oh." Alexis deflated slightly in Rick's arms. "But, I don't want to share my new things with Alyssa. Not yet. Does that make me a bad person?" She turned her face up to her father's, searching his eyes for reassurance.

"No, Lex, it doesn't. It's okay. I think maybe we need to have a family meeting about sharing and personal possessions, maybe even give Alyssa her own bedroom. What do you think?" Rick squeezed her as he finished his question.

"Yeah." Alexis smiled slightly. "I don't really want Kate and Alyssa to move out. I do love them."

"I know you do baby. How about we go wait in the living room so that when Kate and Aly are finished having their chat we can apologise. Sound good?"

"Can we make some hot chocolate for them while we wait?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me Lex." Rick smiled at his daughter, kissing her forehead. He stood up with her in his arms and headed towards the stairs.

* * *

><p>Kate and Alyssa sat crossed-legged in the middle of the king sized bed, facing each other.<p>

"Aly, what's going on with you and Alexis?" Kate was usually confrontational in these situations. If she tried to wait Alyssa out she would get no where. Her daughter was too much like her, too stubborn and all too willing to internalise everything.

"Alexis got new clothes and toys today." Alyssa replied quietly.

"Yes she did. Her mom bought them for her."

"I didn't get anything new." Alyssa stated.

"Are you jealous of Alexis?" Kate asked seriously.

"Yeah a little. But she didn't want to share them with me." Alyssa tried to defend herself.

"Did you ask her before you touched them?"

"No. But she was being mean before that too!" Alyssa was quick to share the blame for the fight.

Kate sighed. "How was she mean Aly?"

"Well, I told her about me and Dad going to the shelter tomorrow and she got all grumpy. She snatched one of her new tops out of my hands and I was only trying to help her put them away. She said that it would be boring too."

"And what did you do then?" Kate asked knowingly. Alyssa was not the kind of child to let things be, she liked to retaliate, another trait she had unfortunately picked up from her mother.

"I… I grabbed one of her new dresses and said that I'd wear it tomorrow and spill food all over it." Alyssa confessed.

"Alyssa." Kate sighed. She waited a moment before posing her next question. "Why do you think that all happened?"

"Cause I was jealous of Alexis."

"You know, Alexis is probably a bit jealous of you too." Kate said, reaching forward to run a hand through her daughter's hair.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're going to be spending time with her dad tomorrow, doing what she usually does with him on Christmas day." Kate explained.

"But he's my dad too now right?" Aly asked, her brow furrowed in concern and fear.

"Yes he is Aly but sometimes we can lose sight of reason when we're upset about something. Like that time you were upset and you told Gramps that you didn't want to hug him because you only wanted to hug me. It's kind of like that."

"Oh."

"What do you think we need to do now Aly?" Kate took Alyssa's hands in her own.

"I need to apologise. And give Lexi a hug." Alyssa stated. "But Mom, can I… I mean, I know we just moved her and just moved all my stuff in but do you think that Rick will let me have my own room?"

"Aly, you can absolutely have your own room. And you can still call him dad if you want to. It's okay." Aly nodded and Kate pulled on her hands so that Alyssa ended up in her lap.

Kate gave her daughter a big bear hug before letting her go.

"Come on, I think I can hear your dad and Lex in the kitchen." Kate smiled, standing up from the bed and pulling Alyssa up by her hand as well.

Kate and Alyssa emerged from the master bedroom just as Rick and Alexis were finishing off the hot chocolate. Alexis grabbed a two mugs off the countertop and cautiously went over to Alyssa. She handed one to Aly and then looked at her feet for a moment, mustering up courage.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and told you to get out." Alexis finally said.

"I'm sorry I touched your new clothes without asking." Alyssa responded. "Thank you for the hot chocolate." She smiled a small smile.

"That's okay."

"Still sisters?" Alyssa asked?

"Yeah." Alexis smiled and hugged her with one arm. Rick came over with two more cups of hot chocolate, handing one to Kate.

"We all good here now?" Rick asked the girls.

His daughters nodded, still stiff and awkward around each other.

"Okay, so, executive decision. I think we should have a family camp out in the living room." Rick declared. He could see small smiles creeping onto his daughters' faces. "Put your hot chocolate down for a moment, go up and grab your pillows and blankets and come back down and we'll put on a Christmas movie."

The girls' smiles broke out fully now as they put their mugs on the coffee table in the living room and ran up the stairs.

"We're going to have to give that spare room to Aly I think." Rick suggested to Kate as soon as the girls were out of earshot.

"Yeah, she asked for her own room tonight." Kate replied.

"Come here." Rick said, putting down his own mug and opening his arms out for Kate. She came into them, folding herself into his chest.

"It was their first fight." Kate murmured.

"It was bound to happen eventually. They just need some space and some sleep. It's getting pretty late now. They're probably tired. We'll sort it all out, don't worry. They still love each other and they still love us. It's okay." Rick assured her, kissing the crown of her head.

Kate didn't reply, instead she turned her head up and captured Rick's lips with her own.

When the girls got back downstairs their parents were still kissing.

"Ewww! Stop, that's gross." Aly complained.

"Yeah. Don't do that with us here." Alexis agreed.

Kate and Rick laughed as they pulled apart, looking at their daughters.

"I love you." Rick murmured to his fiancé. She turned back to him.

"I love you too." She leaned in and kissed him again but they were quickly interrupted.

"You two haven't even got your blankets and pillows yet!" Alyssa made out to be frustrated.

Rick stepped back from Kate, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Okay okay, I'm going. When I come back there better be a movie on though." He faux-threatened. He began walking backwards to the master bedroom as the girls started discussing what movie to watch. Kate's eyes were still on his. "We're all good." He mouthed to her, winking.

She smiled back at him before turning towards the two girls who were holding three movies out in front of her.

"Pick one Mommy." Alexis smiled.

Kate smiled back. They were going to be just fine.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**December 25, 2001 — Christmas Day**

It was overcast outside the bay window as Kate rolled over, groaning as she pushed herself up onto her knees. Her back cracked as she stretched. She and Rick really needed to stop sleeping on the hard floor, if she was getting too old for it, he most definitely was. She finally stood to her feet and noticed the light on in the kitchen. Rick was standing at the counter, pottering around.

Kate carefully stepped over one of her sleeping daughters, she wasn't sure which, both of their heads were buried beneath blankets, and made her way to her fiancé.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" She greeting him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and smiling into his neck.

"Just wanted to make you something to eat before you left." He said as the toaster popped.

"You didn't have to do that. I could've grabbed something on my way to the precinct." She argued.

"I know but I also know that you probably won't. Don't be too impressed, it's just some toast. What would you like on it?" Rick queried as he placed the two slices of toast on a plate and turned out of Kate's arms to grab condiments from the fridge.

"Hmm, peanut butter." Kate decided, reaching into the cupboard that housed said peanut butter. She turned to the plate as Rick grabbed the butter from the fridge and swiftly slathered a serve onto the toast.

"So, when do you think you'll be home this afternoon?" Rick asked as he moved on from the butter to the peanut butter.

"I'm not sure. Unfortunately, Christmas day usually brings in far to many new cases. As long as nothing too big comes along, I should be back at 4, 5 at the latest." She grabbed a slice of toast and took a bite, heading towards the bedroom. "I'm going to go get changed. Do you want to wake the girls so I can say goodbye?"

"Sure thing." Rick quickly followed after her and grabbed her waist. "One thing though." He leaned in and kissed her lips gently. "Merry Christmas Kate."

"Merry Christmas Rick." Kate replied grinning. She leaned in for another kiss.

"Mmmm, peanut butter." Rick murmured with a smile as he pulled back. Kate laughed and hit his chest before turning and making her way to the master bedroom again.

—

"What do you want to do first?" Meredith ran her hand over Alexis's hair as they sat in the town car Meredith had ordered. "We can get some breakfast from room service or we can get straight into presents" She smiled.

"Hmmm, presents? I already had some breakfast at home. Dad made his special Christmas pancakes." Alexis replied, looking up at her mother.

"Christmas pancakes, huh? What makes them Christmassy?"

"Well, he makes them in shapes, like Santa hats and reindeers and presents. They don't always look quite like what they're supposed to but they're still really yummy. And he makes them taste like gingerbread too!" Alexis recounted excitedly.

"That sounds nice." Meredith nodded as she opened the door, the car having arrived at her hotel.

"Meredith? Is that you?" A tall man rushed over to her, laying a hand on her arm. Alexis climbed out of the car as her mother beamed at the stranger, leaning in to hug him.

"Derek! It's been too long!" She greeted.

"Last I heard you were making your mark on Hollywood. What brings you back to the Big Apple?" The man, Derek, queried.

"Christmas. Just came to visit Alexis here." Meredith turned to her daughter, placing a hand between her shoulder blades and pushing her forward so she was between her mother and Derek. "Alexis, this is my old friend Mr. Taylor. Can you say hello?"

"Merry Christmas Mr. Taylor." Alexis smiled at the man nervously.

"Merry Christmas to you Alexis." The man smiled, holding his hand out. Alexis shook it politely before backing up into her mother's legs. "Is she yours?" Derek turned his attention back to Meredith.

"She's Richard's." Meredith replied blithely. Alexis looked up to her mother, brow furrowed in confusion, but didn't say anything.

"I see. So good of you to come and spend time with her." Derek commended. "Anyway, I must run, but I'd love to catch up and talk about some up and coming opportunities I might have for you. Are you free for lunch?"

"Yes, absolutely. I'll just be giving Alexis here her presents and then she'll be heading home."

"I'll see you at 1 then. Here's the address." Derek grabbed out a notebook and pen, jotted down an address and handed it to Meredith,.

"I'll see you then." Meredith leaned in and kissed Derek's cheek before he continued on his way and Meredith led Alexis into the hotel.

—

"What have we got?" Kate was all business as she walked onto the scene. She'd been made point on this one, the Precinct stretched thin over the holiday season. From the looks of it, the scene didn't bode well in terms of getting her home early. This was a high-end hotel, it was likely that this was a prominent victim.

"Darren Clease, 42, Wall Street Mogul. Looks like he was shot several times and then bludgeoned over the head with an ashtray."

"Which was the cause of death?" Kate asked, moving to stand over the M.E. examining the body.

"Official COD will have to wait but my preliminary cause is blunt force trauma. Could be blood loss though, I'll need to get him back to see if the bludgeoning happened before or just after death. It's going to be a close call."

"Any eye wits?" Kate inquired the junior detective.

"No one's come forward. There's camera's in the elevator and one at the end of the hall but nothing on the door to the suite." Esposito answered.

"Okay, finish canvassing this floor and the lobby. Get the security footage and bring it back to the precinct. Next of kin?"

"We've left a message for his wife but she hasn't returned our calls yet. She's not home and her cell seems to be turned off.

"Keep trying. Let's get some more info on this guy, find out what's been happening on Wall Street and if he could've made any enemies. The press is going to be all over this guys, let's keep tight lipped." Kate instructed.

—

"Detective Beckett, can you come down stairs. There's someone here to see you." The officer asked over the phone. She'd been all but pulling her hair out over the latest case when it rang and she was in no mood to deal with the press.

"Hmm? Can it wait? I'm a bit busy. If it's anyone from the press, send them away. Captain Montgomery will make an official statement in the next two hours when we have some more information." She replied, frustrated.

"It's not the press and I don't think it can wait, detective. There's a young girl here claiming to be your daughter." The officer replied concerned.

"Alyssa's there?"

"Ah, she says here name is Alexis. She's here with a tall red-headed woman?"

Kate drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn't have the wherewithal to deal with Meredith right now. "I'll be right down."

Opting for the stairs rather than waiting for the elevator, she took them two at a time. A million things were running through her head. Where was Rick? Why was Meredith brining Alexis here? Had something happened to Alexis? Did something happen to Rick and Alyssa? There more questions popped up in her overactive mind the quicker she ran. She got to the bottom, stumbling and narrowly avoiding toppling over her own feet.

"Meredith, Alexis, is everything okay?" She asked, out of breath.

"Yes, yes. I just need to drop Alexis off. Rick didn't answer his phone and the precinct is on my way. I ran into an old friend and producer and invite me over for Christmas lunch and I need to go get ready." Meredith said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

"Meredith. You can't drop Alexis off here. What time were you supposed to take her home?" Kate asked.

"Oh, in like two hours but Richard's not there and I really don't have two hours to spare nor do I have time to run around the city searching for him." Meredith flounced.

"You can't do this Meredith."

"Why not, you're her mother, aren't you? Or at least you're playing house with her father convincingly enough for her to be calling you Mom." There was a glint to Meredith's eyes as she spoke.

"Meredith…" Before Kate could muster another argument, Meredith was down on her knees, saying goodbye to Alexis.

"I love you. I'll see you in a few months, okay Alexis." She wrapped her arms around the girl, who's hand immediately went to her mother's shoulders.

"I love you too Mommy. I'll call you for New Years." Kate could see the forced smile and the tears behind the little girl's eyes.

"Ta-ta. Say goodbye to your dad for me. Have a great day Kate." And before Kate could do anything else, Meredith turned around and sauntered out of the precinct, leaving Kate staring at her back, feeling the full force of hurricane Meredith.

"Hey Mommy." Alexis's small voice broke Kate out of her daze.

"Hey Lex." She took her daughter's hand and knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?"

Alexis smiled forcefully. Kate pulled the girl into a bear hug.

"I don't understand. Does she not want to be my Mommy?" Alexis asked tearfully into Kate's neck.

"I don't think it's that. I think that she just doesn't understand what she's missing Lex. She loves you but she needs to sort out her priorities." Kate felt Alexis nod slowly against her neck.

Sighing silently to herself Kate put her hands under Alexis's legs and lifted her onto her hip. The girl was almost too big to be carried like this but Kate knew sometimes you just needed to be held.

"Come on, let's head upstairs. You can see my desk while I try and call your Dad and get him to come and pick you up." Kate jiggled Alexis as she headed to the elevator.

"Will you come home too?"

"I can't come home just yet Lexi. I'll come home a little later but until then your Daddy and Alyssa can come and get you and you guys can do some awesome Christmas stuff until I get home, then we can have presents." Kate comforted.

"Okay." Alexis conceded.

—

Alexis sat in Kate's chair, spinning around, back and forth. Kate watched her with a small smile, thinking that the girl would surely make herself sick soon. Kate was leaning against the side of the desk, landline against one ear, cell phone against the other.

"Yes sir." Kate said to assented on the office phone just as Rick picked up his cell.

"Here, talk to Daddy for a sec Lex." Kate whispered, handing the cell off to her daughter.

"Hi Daddy." Alexis smiled into the phone, stopping her spinning for the moment.

"Alexis? Where are you? Why are you using Kate's phone? Where's your Mom?"

"Mommy dropped me off with Kate. She had an important dinner to get ready for and we couldn't get a hold of you on your phone so Mommy left me with Kate at her work." Alexis explained casually, seemingly over the trauma of the morning's incidents for the moment.

"Is Kate there? Can I talk to her?" Rick asked.

"She's on the phone with someone else at the moment." Kate lifted two fingers at Alexis, signing that she'd only be two minutes. "She's won't be much longer. How was the shelter?"

"It was good. Darcy wasn't there this year though. I think he found a place to live."

"Really! That's so cool!" Alexis beamed, glad to hear her friend had found some good fortune.

"Okay." Kate said, hanging up her desk phone and turning to Alexis.

"Mommy's off the phone now Dad."

"Okay sweetie. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you too Dad. Here's Mom." Alexis said before passing the phone to Kate.

"Hey." Kate started, releasing a deep breath.

"Hey. So I hear you have my kid." Rick tried to make light of the issue.

"Well, I don't know about your kid, but I have one of ours." Kate smiled into the phone.

Rick blew out a laugh. "Heh, yeah. I'm sorry about Meredith. What happened exactly?"

"Now's not a great time to go over it. And don't be sorry, it's not your fault. But I do need you to come and pick her up. As much as I love her, the murder board is not something for young eyes to see."

"Yeah, right. Alyssa and I will be there in like 20 minutes. Did you want me to bring anything? Lunch maybe?" Rick offered.

"Ah, no. Not today. Just bring me my other kid to hug and pick up this one. I'll be home in a few hours anyway."

"Sure, I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Kate smiled.

—

The clocked flicked over to 7:30 and Kate still hadn't walked through the door. Rick was conflicted, somewhere between frustrated and worried about his fiancé. The girls were both getting restless, anxious to open their presents and wanting to spend time with their mother.

"Can you try and call her again Dad?" Alyssa asked, walking into the kitchen where Rick was putting Kate's plate into the oven to keep it warm. About half an hour ago he had caved and fed the girls their share of the Christmas dinner that he had promised Kate would be waiting for her when she got home. He'd served himself up a plate but had barely eaten anything, the disappointment welling up deep in his stomach causing his throat to constrict.

"I'll try again in 10 minutes Aly. She's probably just gotten caught up with a case."

"Probably." Alyssa sighed, turning her back on Rick, head hanging in disappointment. He wasn't sure but he thought he saw a glimmer of a tear in her eye. Crying out of sadness wasn't like Alyssa. In the few months that he'd known the girl he had noticed her eyes fill with tears when she was angry but she seemed to withdraw and brood when she was sad, just like Kate.

"Alyssa," Rick beckoned. She didn't turn around, she climbed the stairs and disappeared into the hall.

"Dad?" Alexis grabbed his hand and began to pull him down to her level just as Rick's phone started to ring.

"One sec Lex." Rick extricated himself from his daughter's grasp and accepted the call. "Kate? Where are you?"

"I'm still at work. You might want to let the girls open their presents now. I doubt I'll get home before ten." Kate was obviously distracted by something, her voice was distant and began trailing off before she'd finished the thought.

"Kate. You can't be serious. It's almost 8 on Christmas day, surely it can wait until morning." Rick began arguing.

"It really can't. I'm sorry Rick. This is an important case." Rick could hear Kate shuffling papers on her end of the phone.

"What am I supposed to tell Alyssa and Alexis?" Rick was getting angry but he shot a quick glance towards Alexis who was only a few feet behind him and schooled his voice. Even as he spoke he could hear someone calling to Kate on her side.

"Tell them I love them and that I'll see them in the morning. I love you too Rick but I gotta go."

"Kate…" But she was gone. He turned to the wall and ran his hand over his face, trying to pull himself together, at least for another few hours.

"Daddy?" Alexis grabbed his hand again, this time he knelt down to her level.

"Hey baby. Kate's not gonna be here in time for presents tonight. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Alexis's gaze fell to the floor.

"She's caught up on an important case at the moment but she wanted me to tell you that she loves you." He pulled Alexis into his arms. When they pulled back a moment later he kissed her cheek. "Where's Alyssa?"

"I don't know." Alexis shrugged. "Do you want me to help find her?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Then maybe we can do presents?" Rick suggested, lifting the redhead into his arms and heading towards the stairs.

"No presents. Not without Mom. Alyssa and I agreed." Alexis told her father, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, no presents." Rick agreed as they reached the top of the staircase. His first point of call was the girls' bedroom. Alyssa wasn't in there though. He checked the bathroom and the guest room but found them both empty too. He was at a loss until her heard a soft sniffle coming from the guest room closet. He hugged Alexis closer as he opened the door to the wardrobe. Alyssa sat curled in the corner, a spare blanket wrapped around her, tears rolling down her face.

"Oh Aly…" And without even thinking about it he put Alexis back on her feet and both Castles climbed into the closet with Alyssa.

**A/N: Yay! New Chapter. I'm in New York at the moment (OMG! AMAZING! LOVE IT!) And I'm going to try to pump out another chapter or two while I'm in this amazing city before I head up to Toronto in the New Year for uni. I honestly love this story and will continue to work on it but I can't guarantee any kind of schedule. Much of my free time recently has been spent on other projects that I will hopefully make money off one day and this little side project is just for fun and I try not to take it too seriously. But I do love escaping into this little world and hope you do too!**

**Thanks to the amazing people who have reviewed the last chapter and who are still with me: RoninBlackwing, phnxgrl, NCISchick, LoveAbby, VIOLET1213, stfd51, JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett, Caskett-Alexis41319, life's a mystery, mysticgirl101, still9000, Beachgirl25, Hope03, and Jas Clewes.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**December 25, 2001 - Christmas Day**

It wasn't until ten minutes after she hung up with Rick that Kate realised her folly.

"Crap." She whispered under her breath, running back to her desk and grasping the phone she'd left there. She'd been pouring her umpteenth cup of coffee for the day when she'd called Rick, distracted by the case file in her hand and then further distracted when Esposito had come in with a new lead from his canvas. So she was distracted, distant, and detached from what Rick was telling her, asking of her. But really, there was no excuse.

"Pack it up Espo. Go home. Enjoy your Christmas, or whatever's left of it." The two young detectives were the only ones left. Most of the older officers had left already; solved their cases or found a suitable stopping point. They'd bid their younger counterparts season's greetings, urging them not to stay to late, to go home to their families. But Kate and Javi had something to prove, though neither of them would readily admit to it. This was their first solo case and it felt like the whole precinct was watching them, assessing their every move.

For Kate, this high profile case meant making a name for herself, putting her one step closer to her heading up her own team. For Esposito it meant becoming the second in command for that team. All that was pretty pointless though if she no long had a family to share the accomplishment with though.

"What? Why? We just got a fresh lead!" Esposito argued.

"Yeah, which we can't follow until morning anyway. Go home." Kate pushed.

Esposito didn't reply, stubbornly turning to his own desk and gluing his eyes to a file.

"Look, do whatever you want to Javi, but I'm going home. See you bright and early tomorrow." Kate shrugged on her coat as she hit the call button on the phone again, jamming the device between her ear and her shoulder so she could gather that rest of her possessions.

The phone rung out and went to message bank.

"Damn it." Kate muttered under her breath as she hung up and urgently pressed the elevator button again. She needed to get home.

* * *

><p>Kate bolted up the subway stairs and all but ran to the entrance of her new home. She'd tried Rick's cell and landline several times but he hadn't answered. She knew he must be mad but ignoring her calls was surely too petty for him. Kate clambered up to the fifth floor, two star is at a time, unwilling to wait for yet another elevator.<p>

She all but burst through the door, half expecting to see her loving little family smiling up at her from the floor around the Christmas tree. The living room was empty though. She checked ht kitchen, study, and master bedroom but to no avail. Dread began to sink into her stomach and that dread turned to anguish as she checked the girls; room and found it empty too.

Kate fell to her knees as scenarios began to fly through her mind uncontrollably. Where would he have taken them? Why hadn't he called to tell her they were going somewhere? Had he really kidnapped her daughter? Could it really be considered kidnapping at this point? Of course, legally it would be but wasn't Alyssa just as much his as hers now? That's why she hadn't put the damn case down and come home after all, because, at the end of the day, at least Alyssa had one parent there.

Maybe they'd gone to see her father. Kate raced back down the stairs and dialled her Dad's number on the landline. He'd just answered when Kate noticed Rick's cell and wallet on the hall table.

"Hello. Are you there? Who is this?" Jim's voice rang over the line.

"Oh, hey Dad. It's just me." Kate murmured, her head still spinning.

"Ok Kate! Merry Christmas. Any particular reason for the call? Not that I'm not delighted to hear from you but Rick and the girls called on your behalf earlier."

"Yeah, sorry. Just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas too." She all but whispered.

"Kate?" Her name was bing called from two different directions.

"Dad, sorry… I… I gotta go." Kate muttered into the phone. Jim said something in kind but Kate didn't hear it, too busy having a silent staring competition with the man at the bottom of the stairs.

"Rick, I…" The man in question held up a hand to stop her.

"The girls are in the guest room." His voice was stoic, void of any readably emotion despite the hurt that shone through his eyes.

"Rick…" she tried again, moving a few steps closer.

"They need to hear it more than I do. Both of them." He indicated with his head to the top of the stairs. "Go."

Kate nodded, moving towards where he stood on the final stair. As she passed she gripped his hand, leaning in to whisper in his hear.

"I'm sorry." She kissed his cheek gently. The only response she received from her fiancé was a stiff nod. She conintued up the stairs but stopped at the landing when Rick spoke.

"I'll get the presents ready." And then he was gone.

* * *

><p>Kate knocked on the door before she entered. No response came but she opened the door anyway. Had she not been wracked with guild she might have laughed at the sight before her. A blanket fort had been erected at the end of the bed, it clocked off access to the other side of the room and extended into the closet. Kate gently lifted the corner of the blanket closest to her and peeked in.<p>

"May I come in?"

Alyssa and Alexis were sitting crossed legged, facing each other, in the closet section of the fort.

Alyssa huffed. "I suppose." This was going to be hard. Alyssa had already put up the walls to protect herself, had begun to feign nonchalance. Kate new the technique well, after all, the girl had learnt it from her mother just as Kate had learnt it from Johanna.

Kate climbed in and settled herself across from her daughters.

"I'm sorry." Kate started after the awkward tension between the three got to be too much.

"Okay." Alyssa shrugged, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

"It was wrong of me to stay late at work. Stupid. You've heard me say I have an important jobs just you need to know that you girls are more important. You're my number 1 priority. And I'm very sad to admit that I lost sight of that today." Kate eyed both girls as they stared with great focus at different points on the floor.

"I've gotten so used to your dad being around." She started again. "I've gotten so used to him being here, helping tai care of the two of you, that I forgot that just because he's here doesn't mean I don't need to be."

Alyssa's eyes suddenly shot up to meet Kate's.

"What are you going to do to make up for it? To make it up to us?" Aly's harsh tone meant she was close to forgiving, the stubborn girl was fighting to keep that last bit of anger and hurt bottled up though.

"Nothing." Kate admitted after a moment of thinking. Both girls turned their heads towards her. "Well not nothing. I'm here, apologising, asking for your forgiveness. Sometimes that's how it works Al, sometimes people, family especially, make mistakes, do stupid things and hurt the ones they love. But family isn't about settling some score and keeping track of hits and misses. It's about love, loving each other despite the faults and forgiving and being humble enough to admit that you've made a mistake and you were wrong. Family is loving despite the faults and wrongs." Kate exhaled deeply as she finished.

"Okay." Alyssa whispered. Alexis was nodding slowly but still very silent.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you. Do you think you can forgive me?" Kate reached both her hands towards her daughters.

"I forgive you." Alyssa climbed into Kate's lap as she said it.

"Alexis?" Kate questioned, arm still open. Alexis nodded silently again, crawling carefully towards Kate.

"I love you two more than anything and I promise to remember my priorities in the future." Kate hugged both girls to her chest tightly. "What do you say we go open some presents?"

* * *

><p>The girls brightened up after the first round of presents. They'd both received a scooter from their parents as the main gift and they were currently opening the smaller presents as Rick and Kate sat at opposite ends of the couch, the girls on the floor in front of the tree.<p>

Alyssa was still examining the Harry Potter potions kit Rick and Kate had bought for each of the girls when Alexis pulled her away and dragged her over to the tree. The girls riffled around for a moment while Rick and Kate watched on with curiosity. Finally they made their way over to the couch, an envelope held between them. Standing side by side in the middle of the lounge forced their parents to slide closer together to meet them.

"Gram helped us buy this for you." Alexis said, the girls both thrusting the envelope into Rick and Kate's laps.

Kate picked it up and offered it to Rick to open. He shook his head wearing a smile that was only slightly forced.

"We thought we could use it…" Alyssa stopped talking when Alexis elbowed her and glared.

"Let them open it first." She scolded.

Kate carefully peeled open the envelope and pulled out a voucher.

"Family passes to Disney World for the next twelve months." Kate laughed out, showing the passes to Rick next to her. He chuckled a little too.

"So thoughtful girls." He smiled, extending his arm to pull Alyssa into him just as Kate did the same to Alexis.

Rick reached over and wrapped his arm around Kate's shoulders, tugging the family into a tight group hug.

"I love you guys." Kate threw out into the centre of the hug. She felt Rick let out a breath.

"We love you too." He kissed her cheek gently before pulling back. "But you tow need to go to bed. Think you can share a room for one more night?" He questioned the girls.

"We're not tired." Alyssa asserted.

"That wasn't the question Al." Rick chuckled.

Both girls sighed deeply, in sync.

"Fine." They hugged together as both parents laughed.

* * *

><p>As eleven rolled around the girls were in their room but most definitely were not sleeping. Meanwhile Rick and Kate sat at odds across from each other at the kitchen table.<p>

"I'm sorry." Kate broke the silence.

"You said that already." Rick's tone was matter of fact, not cold exactly, but distant and slightly detached.

"I'm sorry I was distracted when I called you and I'm sorry I didn't come home earlier. I had my priorities mixed up. I forgot that just because Alyssa has you that she still needs me to be here just as much as before. And Alexis too. I just, I've gotten too accustomed to not being the sole centre of Alyssa's universe and her not being the sole centre of mine. I took you for granted today. I'm so sorry." Kate extrapolated.

Rick sat silent and stoic for a moment before speaking.

"You know, at the shelter today there were more people than I've ever seen there before. I've gone every year since Alexis was three and this year… God Kate, there were so many." He shook his head and closed his eyes as Kate waited for him to continue.

"People have lost a lot this year Kate. The entire city has lost a lot. People lost family and friends and their homes and their entire livelihoods during the attacks. The whole time I was dolling out food in that kitchen all I could think about was how luck I was. Amongst a city that has lost so much I've only gained. I gained a friend, then a daughter, then a fiancé. After seeing that first hand, I don't know Kate, family, you, the girls, our parents, they have to be the most important thing. I know that your work is really important and that you're making a difference and helping families who have also lost so much but we have to come first. Alexis, Alyssa, and me. Or you will lose us. Slowly but surely you will."

"I'm sorry. I know. I'm so sorry. As soon as I realised what I had done I came straight home I swear. You're right. You're totally right. I just lost sight of it for a moment. Forgive me?" Kate pleaded, reaching her hands across the table to him.

"Of course." Rick stood instead, walking around the table and pulling her up and into his arms.

They stood in the middle of the room, hugging it out, for the better part of five minutes before Kate pulled back.

"Do you want your Christmas present now?" Rick's grin was all the answer she needed.

* * *

><p><strong>26 December, 2001 <strong>

As Kate filled out the final paperwork for the Wall Street case they'd solved that morning she thought back on the night before. Rick had been ecstatic when he'd opened her gift - Ninja School classes - and he'd hugged her and presented her with an envelope of her own.

_"__After the first couple of years of having money, bought gifts tend to feel over done and insincere."_ He'd started. _"That, and you're really hard to buy for_._" _Kate had laughed and opened the envelope. Inside was a poem he'd written and a certificate giving her the rights to name a star. She thumbed the poem now, sitting in her pocket. She almost had it memorised. Just as she was about to pull it out and read it again the Captain poked his head out of his office.

"Detective Beckett, join me in my office?" Montgomery requested, his voice carrying across the bullpen.

Esposito flicked his eyes to hers as she stood, an 'I-told-you-so' written on his face. Kate pointedly glared at him as she closed the captain's door behind her.

"Detective Beckett, I want to talk to you about last night." He began.

"I know, I cut out early from the case. It's just, it had reached a natural stopping point in my opinion and my daughters…" Kate trailed off as the captain held a finger to silence her interruption.

"I was going to say you made a good choice last night."

Kate sat back and stared blankly at him.

"It takes a good detective to solve this kinda of a case they way you did; to keep the media at bay and get to work. However it takes a wise parent to know when to step back and go home, see her family, and come back with fresh eyes and a clear, rested mind the next day.

"Th…thank-you." Kate stammered.

"Don't thank me. I haven't gotten to the best part yet. We have some detectives moving onto other departments and I have space for a new team. I'd like you to try your hand at it. It's not going to be easy, it's probably going to be longer hours and a bigger workload but I think you've got that under control."

"Thank you again." Kate was stuck for words.

"You'll also be training a new detective in homicide. He'll be partnering with Esposito but you'll be his training officer. His name is Kevin Ryan. He's been a junior detective for the past year or so down in vice. He'll need some guidance on the difference between vice and homicide. Think you're up for the challenge detective?" He questioned.

"Absolutely."

"Great, I look forward to it. Promotion goes through in two weeks. You'll start the next Monday."

**A/N: Hey look! New chapter! Surprise! I can sometimes update within a reasonable time frame. Thanks for all the ****reviews guys. You ROCK! I can't believe I'm almost at 400!**

**Thanks to: calleigh4ever, Sacramone08, Caskett09, linaa13, phnxgrl, Sissysi01, castkate, fanka77, mrj726, life's a mystery, oldmoviewatcher, Macahol84, and the three guests (even if some of what you said was a little concerning :/ thanks for expressing your opinions!) And extra special thanks for the lovely private message I got about this story. It really warmed my heart and inspired me. **


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